The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman anticipates spending time with her family this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a especially challenging period as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her intense distress.
"There's this wave of sudden panic, my entire being will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."
The individual has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from other people.
The condition is widespread in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "You encounter 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 mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Triggers that may be considered normal, 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 skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia for over a decade, says currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then panic will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
