Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner.
For her, the holidays is a particularly difficult season as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."
The individual has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, especially noises produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts found a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, 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 the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states 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 separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Imagine an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
