The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman is looking forward to seeing her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner.
In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult season as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
She has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by those around you.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, along with things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "There are 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 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 make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the most wonderful period can transform into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to specialists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or are troubled. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
