🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Through experience, individuals discover methods to try to better manage their misophonia. One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety. "I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers." Lottie has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises produced by those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it. Frequently it's sounds connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it. "My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly." So it's clear why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers. Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is planning ways to get her through the family meal. The student, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to escape problematic noises. She says her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will activate. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Manage If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists. Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Through experience, individuals discover methods to try to better manage their misophonia. One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety. "I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers." Lottie has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises produced by those around you. The condition is widespread across the population. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it. Frequently it's sounds connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it. "My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly." So it's clear why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers. Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is planning ways to get her through the family meal. The student, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would often retreat in a different room to escape problematic noises. She says her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will activate. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Manage If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists. Imagine an Alternative: Creative thinking is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.