🔗 Share this article Yuletide Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia. Through experience, people discover methods to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman hopes for seeing her family during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner. For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult time as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger intense distress. "I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those coming from those around you. It's surprisingly common in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings. Jenna is planning coping mechanisms to manage Christmas lunch. She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds. She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. 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 affecting you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
Through experience, people discover methods to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman hopes for seeing her family during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner. For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult time as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger intense distress. "I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those coming from those around you. It's surprisingly common in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people experience it. Often it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings. Jenna is planning coping mechanisms to manage Christmas lunch. She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds. She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. 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 affecting you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.