Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie hopes for being with her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.
For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety.
"There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises."
Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by other people.
The condition is widespread across the population. Experts discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Often it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas 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 internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.
Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.
Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.
She notes her condition is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".
"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."
Several Strategies to Cope
For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.
- Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
- Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
