The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman hopes for being with her relatives this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year is a notably tough season as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
She has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
She, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
