🔗 Share this article Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. With time, individuals have found strategies to cope with their condition. A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner. For her, this time of year can be a particularly difficult time as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers." The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by other people. The condition is widespread across the population. A study reported a significant portion of people suffer from it. Typically it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Another individual is considering coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid triggering sounds. She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Handle It If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the triggering sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine 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. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
With time, individuals have found strategies to cope with their condition. A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner. For her, this time of year can be a particularly difficult time as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety. "I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers." The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by other people. The condition is widespread across the population. A study reported a significant portion of people suffer from it. Typically it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping. Triggering Stress The sufferer notes: "There are so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Another individual is considering coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid triggering sounds. She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "It's like this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over. "It can come across as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." Several Strategies to Handle It If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the triggering sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine 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. Although the sound remains identical, your reaction of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.