🔗 Share this article Christmas Can Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers. Over the years, individuals develop methods to handle their sound sensitivity. A 23-year-old hopes for being with her family this Christmas, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal. In her case, Christmas can be a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises." Lottie has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from other people. It is prevalent across the population. Experts found almost one in five people are affected by it. Frequently it's noises associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear 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 constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely. A 21-year-old student is considering coping mechanisms to get her through the family meal. She, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She explains her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Handle It For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts. Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
Over the years, individuals develop methods to handle their sound sensitivity. A 23-year-old hopes for being with her family this Christmas, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal. In her case, Christmas can be a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises." Lottie has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from other people. It is prevalent across the population. Experts found almost one in five people are affected by it. Frequently it's noises associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear 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 constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely. A 21-year-old student is considering coping mechanisms to get her through the family meal. She, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She explains her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Handle It For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts. Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.