Yuletide Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by using her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas is a notably tough period as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress.
"I experience this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises coming from those around you.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
She, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation 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 embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, according to experts.
- Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision 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.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By joining in, rather than 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 a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
