Christmas Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie is looking forward to being with her family over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner.
In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult season as the noises of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."
The individual has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by individuals.
It is prevalent in the UK. Experts found almost one in five people experience it.
Typically it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
The student, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Handle It
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
