Yuletide Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - especially during the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a especially challenging time as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
Lottie has experienced this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by individuals.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Often it's noises linked to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
'Anxiety Inducing'
Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
The student, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states her strategy is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.
She says her condition is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Manage
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, according to specialists.
- Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
