Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal.
In her case, the holidays can be a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger intense distress.
"There's this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds made by those around you.
It is prevalent amongst adults. Researchers found a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises linked to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful 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 internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a university student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says currently her plan is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize problematic noises.
She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, 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 dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, according to specialists.
- Visualise a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
