The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old anticipates seeing her relatives during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a particularly difficult time as the noises of other people chewing, slurping and nose-blowing trigger intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
She has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts found nearly 20% people experience it.
Frequently it's noises linked to bodily functions that cause distress, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There is pressure to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.