🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers. Through experience, people discover methods to handle their sound sensitivity. Lottie hopes for spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but says a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her earplugs - notably for the main festive feast. In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds." She has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. A study found almost one in five people suffer from it. Often it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly." So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. Jenna is planning ways to get her through the holiday dinner. She, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says currently her plan is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape distressing triggers. She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There is pressure to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will kick in. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Handle It If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
Through experience, people discover methods to handle their sound sensitivity. Lottie hopes for spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but says a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her earplugs - notably for the main festive feast. In her case, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds." She has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. A study found almost one in five people suffer from it. Often it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly." So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. Jenna is planning ways to get her through the holiday dinner. She, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says currently her plan is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape distressing triggers. She says her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There is pressure to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will kick in. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Handle It If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.