Christmas Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal.
In her case, this time of year can be a especially challenging time as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."
She has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, notably sounds coming from other people.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. A study discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Often it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including things like chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a visceral feeling that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, states currently her plan is to listen to music to get through dinner. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize triggering sounds.
She explains her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then panic will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is essential. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
