🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Over the years, sufferers discover methods to try to better manage their misophonia. One young woman hopes for being with her relatives over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner. In her case, this time of year often feels like a notably tough time as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers." Lottie has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers found nearly 20% people experience it. Typically it's noises linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it. "My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Another individual is already thinking about strategies to help her during the family meal. The student, a university student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape problematic noises. She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "People assume you to be around family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Handle It If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, according to experts. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, 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 interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
Over the years, sufferers discover methods to try to better manage their misophonia. One young woman hopes for being with her relatives over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner. In her case, this time of year often feels like a notably tough time as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers." Lottie has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers found nearly 20% people experience it. Typically it's noises linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it. "My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Another individual is already thinking about strategies to help her during the family meal. The student, a university student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape problematic noises. She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "People assume you to be around family, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Several Strategies to Handle It If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, according to experts. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, 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 interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.