The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old anticipates seeing her relatives during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, the holidays often feels like a notably tough period as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."
Lottie has lived with sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by those around you.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. Researchers reported nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Often it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays 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 upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her sensitivity is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
