The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the main festive feast.
In her case, the holidays is a notably tough season as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel intense distress.
"I get this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to manage these triggers."
She has lived with sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds made by individuals.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. A study discovered nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Frequently it's noises linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to escape problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Manage
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the particular sound bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
