Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie anticipates seeing her family this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner.
In her case, this time of year is a especially challenging period as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises."
The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, especially noises made by other people.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts found almost one in five people suffer from it.
Often it's noises associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds.
She explains her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
