🔗 Share this article Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia. With time, sufferers discover strategies to handle their condition. One young woman anticipates being with her loved ones during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast. For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging period as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "There's this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises." Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. Experts found a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My family are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is planning coping mechanisms to manage the holiday dinner. She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There is pressure to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
With time, sufferers discover strategies to handle their condition. One young woman anticipates being with her loved ones during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast. For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging period as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "There's this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises." Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. Experts found a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My family are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is planning coping mechanisms to manage the holiday dinner. She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There is pressure to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope For those affected then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.