Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the noises of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
She has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from other people.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Typically it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful 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 constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She explains her condition is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
