Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a notably tough period as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger intense distress.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises made by other people.
The condition is widespread across the population. Experts discovered nearly 20% people experience it.
Often it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a separate space to minimize triggering sounds.
She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: Another technique 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 at their best or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
