The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her family this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a particularly difficult time as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."
The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from individuals.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy season can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, says currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a quiet area to minimize problematic noises.
She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I want to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
