The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.
Lottie hopes for spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by using her earplugs - particularly at the main festive feast.
For her, this time of year is a particularly difficult period as the noises of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I experience this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these noises."
Lottie has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".
Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by those around you.
It's surprisingly common across the population. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.
Often it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.
A Source of Dread
Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.
"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."
So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.
Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.
The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says 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 triggering sounds.
She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".
"People assume you 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 embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will kick in.
"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."
Three Ways to Handle It
If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists.
- Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
- Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help redirect your focus 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, 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 remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
