đź”— Share this article Christmas Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Through experience, people develop methods to handle their sound sensitivity. One young woman is looking forward to being with her family this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a notably tough season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress. "There's this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers." The individual has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those produced by individuals. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts discovered almost one in five people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them skipping events entirely. Jenna is considering coping mechanisms to manage Christmas lunch. She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Handle It For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, according to specialists. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
Through experience, people develop methods to handle their sound sensitivity. One young woman is looking forward to being with her family this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a notably tough season as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress. "There's this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers." The individual has suffered from this condition from a young age and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, particularly those produced by individuals. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts discovered almost one in five people are affected by it. Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a visceral feeling that can even lead to them skipping events entirely. Jenna is considering coping mechanisms to manage Christmas lunch. She, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "People assume you to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Handle It For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, according to specialists. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.