🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers. Over the years, sufferers discover ways to cope with their misophonia. One young woman anticipates being with her relatives during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds." She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those coming from other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. A study discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it. Often it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals. Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is considering strategies to get her through Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid triggering sounds. She explains her condition is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There is pressure to be around family, and I want to, but it's draining. "I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Manage If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Picture an Alternative: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
Over the years, sufferers discover ways to cope with their misophonia. One young woman anticipates being with her relatives during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds." She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those coming from other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. A study discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it. Often it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals. Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Another individual is considering strategies to get her through Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says currently her plan is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid triggering sounds. She explains her condition is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult". "There is pressure to be around family, and I want to, but it's draining. "I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Manage If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Picture an Alternative: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.