The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman is looking forward to seeing her family this Christmas, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging season as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her intense distress.
"There's this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises."
The individual has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises made by those around you.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts found nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, 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 everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can rapidly become a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She notes her condition is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
