Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie hopes for being with her family over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the main festive feast.
For her, Christmas can be a particularly difficult period as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety.
"I get this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds."
The individual has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, especially noises produced by those around you.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Experts reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a university student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says her strategy is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape triggering sounds.
She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.
- Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
