Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her family this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal.
In her case, the holidays can be a notably tough time as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."
The individual has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from other people.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts reported nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to bodily functions that cause distress, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then the stress response will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Cope
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Picture an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
