Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman anticipates being with her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays often feels like a notably tough season as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."
She has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by individuals.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts found a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's noises linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, 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 clear why the traditionally happy season can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a university student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize triggering sounds.
She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Manage
For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. For example 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. Even though the noise stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
