The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult season as the sounds of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to manage these triggers."
She has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that causes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by individuals.
The condition is widespread in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe 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, according to experts.
- Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique 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 making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
