Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by using her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult period as the noises of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her intense distress.
"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
The individual has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those coming from other people.
The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study reported almost one in five people suffer from it.
Frequently it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. 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 quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
The student, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, states her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds.
She notes her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's draining.
"It's like this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. 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 culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
