Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman is looking forward to being with her relatives over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a particularly difficult season as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this feeling of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from individuals.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts reported almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize triggering sounds.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
For those affected then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, 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 a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
