The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"I get this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds."
The individual has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds coming from individuals.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Frequently it's noises associated with bodily functions that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear 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 managing my symptoms to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
The student, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone 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 in good health or maybe they're upset. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
