Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her profound anxiety.
"I experience this sensation of sudden panic, my entire being will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds."
She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by individuals.
The condition is widespread across the population. Experts found almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's noises associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "There are so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure 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 be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid distressing triggers.
She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
