đź”— Share this article The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia. With time, people have found ways to handle their sound sensitivity. Lottie anticipates seeing her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner. In her case, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers." She has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises produced by individuals. The condition is widespread amongst adults. Researchers discovered almost one in five people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it. "My family are aware, 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 make sure everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is considering ways to manage the holiday dinner. She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, says currently her plan is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid distressing triggers. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Cope If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists. Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
With time, people have found ways to handle their sound sensitivity. Lottie anticipates seeing her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner. In her case, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers." She has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises produced by individuals. The condition is widespread amongst adults. Researchers discovered almost one in five people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it. "My family are aware, 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 make sure everyone else is happy." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is considering ways to manage the holiday dinner. She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, says currently her plan is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to avoid distressing triggers. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then the stress response will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Cope If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from specialists. Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.