🔗 Share this article Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Over the years, individuals develop methods to handle their misophonia. Lottie anticipates seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal. For her, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging period as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her intense distress. "I get this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts found nearly 20% people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me 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 managing my symptoms to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to help her during the family meal. The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize triggering sounds. She says her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Several Strategies to Handle It If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. 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 competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
Over the years, individuals develop methods to handle their misophonia. Lottie anticipates seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal. For her, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging period as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her intense distress. "I get this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has suffered from this condition for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts found nearly 20% people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me 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 managing my symptoms to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to help her during the family meal. The student, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize triggering sounds. She says her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There is pressure to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Several Strategies to Handle It If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. 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 competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.