Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
One young woman is looking forward to seeing her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a notably tough time as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her intense distress.
"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these triggers."
Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by those around you.
The condition is widespread across the population. Experts reported nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Typically it's sounds connected to bodily functions that cause distress, along with things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.
"My family are aware, 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 guarantee others enjoy themselves."
So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a source of agony for those with the condition.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, explains currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape problematic noises.
She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will take over.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
A Few Techniques to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
- Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not at their best or could be emotional. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.