Christmas Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie anticipates seeing her family during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a especially challenging time as the sounds of people eating, slurping and nose-blowing trigger intense distress.
"There's this wave of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those made by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions 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 supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid problematic noises.
She notes her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then the stress response will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
