Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie anticipates being with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal.
In her case, this time of year is a especially challenging time as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"There's this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises."
Lottie has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises coming from other people.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid problematic noises.
She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
