Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman hopes for seeing her family this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal.
In her case, this time of year often feels like a especially challenging season as the sounds of people eating, slurping and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."
She has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that renders the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, notably sounds produced by other people.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts reported almost one in five people are affected by it.
Frequently it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
Triggering Stress
The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid 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 enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"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 embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.
- Picture an Alternative: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or are troubled. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
