🔗 Share this article Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia. Through experience, individuals develop ways to handle their condition. Lottie is looking forward to seeing her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by using her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner. In her case, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable. "There's this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises." She has suffered from sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from other people. It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people experience it. Often it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Jenna is planning ways to help her during the holiday dinner. Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize distressing triggers. She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining. "I feel as if this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Handle It If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by specialists. Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
Through experience, individuals develop ways to handle their condition. Lottie is looking forward to seeing her relatives during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by using her earplugs - particularly at Christmas dinner. In her case, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable. "There's this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these noises." She has suffered from sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from other people. It is prevalent in the UK. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people experience it. Often it's sounds linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it. "My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves." So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Jenna is planning ways to help her during the holiday dinner. Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize distressing triggers. She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging". "There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining. "I feel as if this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Handle It If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by specialists. Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. For instance, try to envision someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.