🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Over the years, individuals develop strategies to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman is looking forward to seeing her family this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal. In her case, the holidays often feels like a notably tough period as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress. "I experience this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises." Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by other people. The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts found a significant portion of people suffer from it. Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "My family are understanding, but I'm very aware 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 obvious why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through the family meal. The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to listen to music to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize problematic noises. She notes her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "People assume you to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it." A Few Techniques to Handle It For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by experts. Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Over the years, individuals develop strategies to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman is looking forward to seeing her family this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal. In her case, the holidays often feels like a notably tough period as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress. "I experience this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises." Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by other people. The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts found a significant portion of people suffer from it. Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, along with examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "My family are understanding, but I'm very aware 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 obvious why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through the family meal. The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains currently her plan is to listen to music to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize problematic noises. She notes her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "People assume you to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it." A Few Techniques to Handle It For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by experts. Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.