Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie anticipates being with her family during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a especially challenging time as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from those around you.
The condition is widespread across the population. A study found a significant portion of people experience it.
Often it's sounds connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for affected individuals.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to escape problematic noises.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By mimicking, instead of 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 slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
