Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
The individual has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from those around you.
It is prevalent across the population. A study found almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, states currently her plan is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.
She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Manage
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
