The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman is looking forward to being with her relatives over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.
In her case, Christmas can be a especially challenging time as the sounds of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises."
The individual has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises made by other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported almost one in five people experience it.
Frequently it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize triggering sounds.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
