The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to seeing her relatives this Christmas, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises."
The individual has lived with sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from individuals.
The condition is widespread across the population. Researchers found almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, including things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, states her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe 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, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
