Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie anticipates being with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas is a notably tough time as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily cause her intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises."
Lottie has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises made by those around you.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts reported a significant portion of people experience it.
Frequently it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "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 supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says currently her plan is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds.
She says her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning 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.
