Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her loved ones during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging period as the noises of other people chewing, slurping and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds."
She has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from individuals.
It is prevalent across the population. Researchers found almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape triggering sounds.
She notes her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Cope
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
