Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman hopes for being with her family during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - especially during the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."
She has lived with sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those produced by individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts found a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Frequently it's noises linked to bodily functions that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, 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 different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
