Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for being with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a notably tough time as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
The individual has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by those around you.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers reported almost one in five people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She explains her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, according to specialists.
- Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the triggering sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
