The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.
For her, the holidays often feels like a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."
The individual has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. A study found almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, along with things like crunching, heavy 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 fear it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for those with the condition.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to avoid problematic noises.
She notes her sensitivity is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
