Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her family during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.
In her case, the holidays can be a notably tough season as the noises of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily cause her profound anxiety.
"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."
She has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, particularly those made by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts found almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then panic will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Handle It
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
