The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by using her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner.
For her, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult season as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
She has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people.
It is prevalent across the population. A study discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's noises associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She explains her condition is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the particular sound bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
