🔗 Share this article Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Through experience, people develop methods to handle their condition. A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a particularly difficult period as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers." The individual has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by other people. It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers found almost one in five people suffer from it. Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it. "My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers. Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Jenna is planning ways to get her through the family meal. She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape problematic noises. She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Handle It For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by experts. Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. As an 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 willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
Through experience, people develop methods to handle their condition. A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a particularly difficult period as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers." The individual has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises made by other people. It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers found almost one in five people suffer from it. Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it. "My family are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers. Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Jenna is planning ways to get her through the family meal. She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape problematic noises. She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Handle It For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by experts. Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. As an 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 willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.