Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.
A 23-year-old anticipates being with her relatives over the holidays, but says a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.
For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a particularly difficult period as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."
Lottie has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".
Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people.
It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts found almost one in five people experience it.
Often it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.
'Anxiety Inducing'
She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it.
"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for affected individuals.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.
She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape triggering sounds.
She says her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".
"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.
"The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.
"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."
Several Strategies to Cope
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.
- Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the particular sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
- Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
- Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
