Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but says a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises."
She has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those coming from other people.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to escape distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Imagination is essential. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
