Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman anticipates seeing her relatives over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
In her case, this time of year is a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her intense distress.
"I get this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."
Lottie has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, particularly those produced by individuals.
It is prevalent across the population. Researchers reported almost one in five people experience it.
Typically it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize problematic noises.
She notes her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.
- Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
