Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her earplugs - especially during the main festive feast.
For her, Christmas is a especially challenging period as the noises of people eating, slurping and sniffling cause her profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."
Lottie has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds made by individuals.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts found a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Frequently it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a source of agony for affected individuals.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, states her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
