🔗 Share this article Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia. Through experience, sufferers have found ways to try to better manage their sound sensitivity. Lottie anticipates seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner. For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily cause her intense distress. "I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises." Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, especially noises coming from those around you. It is prevalent across the population. A study found almost one in five people suffer from it. Frequently it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can transform into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Jenna is considering coping mechanisms to help her during the family meal. Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize problematic noises. She explains her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Handle It For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. 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 willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain 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 creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
Through experience, sufferers have found ways to try to better manage their sound sensitivity. Lottie anticipates seeing her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner. For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily cause her intense distress. "I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises." Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, especially noises coming from those around you. It is prevalent across the population. A study found almost one in five people suffer from it. Frequently it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can transform into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Jenna is considering coping mechanisms to help her during the family meal. Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize problematic noises. She explains her condition is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Handle It For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. 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 willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain 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 creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.