Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old anticipates seeing her relatives this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds produced by individuals.
It is prevalent across the population. Researchers discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize problematic noises.
She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Picture an Alternative: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
