🔗 Share this article Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia. Through experience, people have found strategies to handle their sound sensitivity. One young woman anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during Christmas dinner. For her, Christmas is a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress. "I experience this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds." She has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises produced by individuals. It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers found a significant portion of people are affected by it. Typically it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it. "Those close to me are aware, 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 the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about coping mechanisms to help her during the family meal. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds. She says her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will take over. "It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Handle It If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to experts. Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're 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 interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.
Through experience, people have found strategies to handle their sound sensitivity. One young woman anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during Christmas dinner. For her, Christmas is a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress. "I experience this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds." She has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises produced by individuals. It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers found a significant portion of people are affected by it. Typically it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. Triggering Stress Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you fear it. "Those close to me are aware, 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 the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a visceral feeling that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about coping mechanisms to help her during the family meal. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, says the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid triggering sounds. She says her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining. "The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will take over. "It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Handle It If it's an issue then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, according to experts. Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to fabricate an explanation about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're 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 interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.