The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman hopes for being with her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast.
For her, this time of year is a especially challenging time as the noises of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by those around you.
It is prevalent across the population. Researchers reported almost one in five people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a university student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, states her strategy is to listen to music to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize triggering sounds.
She notes her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Picture an Alternative: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
