🔗 Share this article Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Through experience, sufferers develop ways to handle their condition. A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by using her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, this time of year often feels like a notably tough time as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I get this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises." Lottie has experienced this condition for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it. Often it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize problematic noises. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." A Few Techniques to Manage If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts. Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
Through experience, sufferers develop ways to handle their condition. A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes one of the only ways she'll cope is by using her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, this time of year often feels like a notably tough time as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I get this sensation of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises." Lottie has experienced this condition for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it. Often it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize problematic noises. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." A Few Techniques to Manage If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts. Visualise an Alternative: Creative thinking is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound remains identical, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.