The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for being with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal.
For her, this time of year can be a particularly difficult period as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this feeling of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises."
The individual has lived with this condition for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds coming from individuals.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape distressing triggers.
She notes her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"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 take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Handle It
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
