Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old anticipates being with her family over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast.
In her case, this time of year is a notably tough period as the noises of people eating, slurping and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises."
The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from those around you.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers found nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.
She notes her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to socialize 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 awkward, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Attempt to link the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
