Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, Christmas can be a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds."
Lottie has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by those around you.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts reported nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid problematic noises.
She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
