The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.
Lottie anticipates spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast.
In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult period as the sounds of people eating, slurping and nose-blowing cause her extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to manage these noises."
She has lived with sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from those around you.
It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it.
Typically it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a living nightmare for those with the condition.
Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize problematic noises.
She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".
"People assume you to be around family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.
"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."
A Few Techniques to Manage
For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to experts.
- Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
- Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.