🔗 Share this article Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Through experience, individuals discover strategies to try to better manage their misophonia. A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by using her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal. For her, the holidays can be a notably tough season as the noises of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers." She has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers reported a significant portion of people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds associated with bodily functions that trigger a reaction, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My family are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition. Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely. Another individual is considering coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She says her sensitivity is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging". "People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining. "I feel as if this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, according to experts. Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Through experience, individuals discover strategies to try to better manage their misophonia. A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by using her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal. For her, the holidays can be a notably tough season as the noises of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers." She has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that renders the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by individuals. The condition is widespread in the UK. Researchers reported a significant portion of people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds associated with bodily functions that trigger a reaction, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. A Source of Dread Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My family are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition. Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely. Another individual is considering coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She says her sensitivity is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging". "People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining. "I feel as if this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, according to experts. Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.