Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner.
In her case, the holidays can be a notably tough period as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."
She has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "I face 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 understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect 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 why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
