The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her relatives over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by using her earplugs - especially during the main festive feast.
In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult season as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."
She has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those produced by individuals.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers reported nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape distressing triggers.
She explains her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, 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 unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
