Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman hopes for spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but says a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises produced by other people.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study reported nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds.
She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, 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 dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
