Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
One young woman anticipates being with her relatives this Christmas, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by using her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.
In her case, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the noises of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I get this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
She has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported almost one in five people are affected by it.
Typically it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.
"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee the event goes smoothly."
So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.
She says her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".
"People assume you to be around family, 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 anxious and burst into tears and then panic will kick in.
"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Cope
If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from specialists.
- Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of 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.
- Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
