🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Through experience, people have found ways to handle their sound sensitivity. A 23-year-old anticipates seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a notably tough season as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers." Lottie has lived with this condition for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. A study reported a significant portion of people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing 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 constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is planning strategies to get her through the holiday dinner. Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize distressing triggers. She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts. Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Through experience, people have found ways to handle their sound sensitivity. A 23-year-old anticipates seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a notably tough season as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers." Lottie has lived with this condition for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. A study reported a significant portion of people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing 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 constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can rapidly become a living nightmare for sufferers. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is planning strategies to get her through the holiday dinner. Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize distressing triggers. She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts. Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.