The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises."
She has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those made by other people.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. A study reported almost one in five people are affected by it.
Typically it's noises associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas 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 upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says 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 triggering sounds.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to be around family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
