Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie anticipates seeing her family this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.
For her, the holidays can be a particularly difficult season as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.
"There's this feeling of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers."
Lottie has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".
Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by those around you.
It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers found a significant portion of people are affected by it.
Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.
"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers.
Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.
She, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize problematic noises.
She explains her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard".
"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.
"It's like this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate.
"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Manage
If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by experts.
- Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
- Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
- Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
