The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman hopes for seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast.
In her case, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing make her feel profound anxiety.
"I get this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, notably sounds made by those around you.
It is prevalent across the population. Researchers found a significant portion of people experience it.
Frequently it's noises connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says currently her plan is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Three Ways to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
