🔗 Share this article Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia. Through experience, people discover methods to try to better manage their misophonia. Lottie is looking forward to seeing her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast. In her case, Christmas is a particularly difficult period as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds." She has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises coming from those around you. The condition is widespread in the UK. A study discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it. Often it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely. Another individual is considering coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a separate space to escape problematic noises. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Manage If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
Through experience, people discover methods to try to better manage their misophonia. Lottie is looking forward to seeing her family over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast. In her case, Christmas is a particularly difficult period as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds." She has experienced sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises coming from those around you. The condition is widespread in the UK. A study discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it. Often it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "My relatives are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to ensure the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a source of agony for those with the condition. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely. Another individual is considering coping mechanisms to get her through Christmas lunch. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would often retreat in a separate space to escape problematic noises. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it." Three Ways to Manage If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists. Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.