The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman hopes for being with her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this sensation of sudden panic, my entire being will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those produced by other people.
It is prevalent across the population. A study reported almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Cope
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
