The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a especially challenging season as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety.
"There's this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, particularly those coming from individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers found a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to escape problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to be around family, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. 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 affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
