Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie is looking forward to seeing her relatives during the festive period, but says a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the main festive feast.
For her, this time of year can be a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."
Lottie has suffered from sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds made by other people.
It is prevalent across the population. Experts reported almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, states currently her plan is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize distressing triggers.
She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will kick in.
"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, according to specialists.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your understanding of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
