Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.
For her, Christmas can be a especially challenging time as the noises of people eating, slurping and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."
Lottie has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, notably sounds produced by other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers found a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She explains her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person 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 maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.