The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for seeing her loved ones during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.
For her, Christmas is a notably tough season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises."
She has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people.
The condition is widespread across the population. Researchers discovered almost one in five people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, along with examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to minimize problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"People assume you to be around family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Manage
For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Imagine Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
