Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by using her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging time as the noises of other people chewing, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel intense distress.
"I experience this wave 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 misophonia for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers discovered almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says currently her plan is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is key. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
