Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.
Lottie anticipates being with her loved ones during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel profound anxiety.
"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises."
Lottie has experienced misophonia for several years and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by other people.
The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.
"My family are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for affected individuals.
Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid problematic noises.
She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There's an expectation to be around family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists.
- Visualise Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Craft a Story: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
