The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
One young woman hopes for spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year is a notably tough season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has experienced misophonia for several years and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a source of agony for those with the condition.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, explains her strategy is to listen to music to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
Three Ways to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Visualise an Alternative: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method 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. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
