Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.
For her, Christmas can be a particularly difficult time as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."
The individual has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises produced by those around you.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts discovered a significant portion of people experience it.
Frequently it's noises linked to bodily functions that cause distress, including things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape distressing triggers.
She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to spend time with loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then panic will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
