The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her relatives during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.
For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a especially challenging time as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this wave of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."
She has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the festive season "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, especially noises produced by those around you.
It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Researchers found a significant portion of people experience it.
Typically it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds 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 make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly."
So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize triggering sounds.
She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will take over.
"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."
Several Strategies to Handle It
If you suffer then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate 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 retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect 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 behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
