The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises."
The individual has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that causes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from those around you.
It's surprisingly common across the population. A study found a significant portion of people experience it.
Frequently it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid problematic noises.
She explains her condition is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
