Yuletide Transforms Into a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her loved ones during the festive period, but says a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult period as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety.
"There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds."
Lottie has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, especially noises made by those around you.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to escape problematic noises.
She explains her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Imagination is key. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
