The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel intense distress.
"I get this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has lived with this condition for several years and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds made by those around you.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, says currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds.
She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
