Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman anticipates being with her family over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - especially during the main festive feast.
In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult season as the noises of people eating, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel intense distress.
"I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises produced by other people.
The condition is widespread across the population. A study found nearly 20% people are affected by it.
Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
