The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas is a notably tough period as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has lived with sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds made by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers reported almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Manage
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
