🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. With time, individuals have found ways to cope with their misophonia. One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal. For her, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers." She has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those produced by other people. The condition is widespread amongst adults. Researchers found a significant portion of people suffer from it. Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about ways to manage the holiday dinner. Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, 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 familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining. "I feel as if this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Cope If you suffer then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
With time, individuals have found ways to cope with their misophonia. One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at the holiday meal. For her, Christmas is a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable. "There's this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers." She has lived with misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those produced by other people. The condition is widespread amongst adults. Researchers found a significant portion of people suffer from it. Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about ways to manage the holiday dinner. Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, 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 familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining. "I feel as if this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Cope If you suffer then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.