The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
The individual has lived with this condition for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those produced by other people.
The condition is widespread in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for those with the condition.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
