The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman anticipates seeing her relatives over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, the holidays can be a particularly difficult season as the noises of family members munching, slurping and sniffling cause her profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises."
Lottie has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts reported almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's noises associated with bodily functions that cause distress, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "There are so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape distressing triggers.
She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"I feel as if this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's tough to describe 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 specialists.
- Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.