Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.
In her case, the holidays is a notably tough time as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
The individual has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by those around you.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Frequently it's noises associated with eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a visceral feeling that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, states currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
