The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman anticipates spending time with her family this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, this time of year is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
Lottie has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, especially noises coming from other people.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, according to experts.
- Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.