The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman is looking forward to seeing her family during the festive period, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.
In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult season as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."
She has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from other people.
It is prevalent in the UK. A study discovered nearly 20% people experience it.
Frequently it's noises linked to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at Christmas 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 make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can transform into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
She, a university student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her condition is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's draining.
"It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will take over.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Handle It
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
