đź”— Share this article Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers. Through experience, individuals have found ways to cope with their sound sensitivity. Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers." The individual has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by other people. It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported almost one in five people experience it. Typically it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy." So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is considering ways to manage the family meal. The student, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape distressing triggers. She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Handle It If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts. Imagine an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
Through experience, individuals have found ways to cope with their sound sensitivity. Lottie is looking forward to spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner. For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers." The individual has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds made by other people. It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported almost one in five people experience it. Typically it's sounds associated with bodily functions that cause distress, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy." So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a stressful ordeal for those with the condition. Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is considering ways to manage the family meal. The student, a young adult, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape distressing triggers. She explains her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in. "It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Handle It If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts. Imagine an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral. Make it a Game: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or could be emotional. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.