Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
For her, this time of year can be a particularly difficult season as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those coming from other people.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
She, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says currently her plan is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then the stress response will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Manage
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
