🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Through experience, people develop strategies to try to better manage their sound sensitivity. One young woman is looking forward to seeing her relatives this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal. For her, this time of year often feels like a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises." Lottie has experienced this condition for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts reported a significant portion of people experience it. Frequently it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can transform into a source of agony for sufferers. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is already thinking about ways to manage the family meal. She, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds. She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "People assume you to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "The sensation is this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Cope If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists. Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the particular 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 retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant. Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
Through experience, people develop strategies to try to better manage their sound sensitivity. One young woman is looking forward to seeing her relatives this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal. For her, this time of year often feels like a especially challenging season as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "I experience this feeling of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tighten and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises." Lottie has experienced this condition for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from other people. It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts reported a significant portion of people experience it. Frequently it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. Triggering Stress She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves." So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can transform into a source of agony for sufferers. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. Another individual is already thinking about ways to manage the family meal. She, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to use headphones to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds. She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "People assume you to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "The sensation is this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will activate. "To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Cope If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists. Visualise a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the particular 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 retrain your mind that the sound triggering you isn't harmful. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant. Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not feeling well or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.