The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for being with her family this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, the holidays can be a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my entire being will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity for several years and for her that causes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, notably sounds coming from other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. A study reported a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, says currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her condition is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the triggering sound bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
