Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her family over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a notably tough season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, notably sounds coming from other people.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds linked to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are supportive, 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 ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her condition is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to spend time with loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
For those affected then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. As an 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 engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
