🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers. Through experience, people develop ways to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman hopes for seeing her family over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast. For her, the holidays often feels like a particularly difficult season as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "I experience this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds." She has experienced this condition for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises produced by those around you. It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers found nearly 20% people suffer from it. Typically it's noises connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for those with the condition. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Jenna is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through the holiday dinner. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She notes her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.
Through experience, people develop ways to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman hopes for seeing her family over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast. For her, the holidays often feels like a particularly difficult season as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety. "I experience this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds." She has experienced this condition for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, especially noises produced by those around you. It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers found nearly 20% people suffer from it. Typically it's noises connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking. 'Anxiety Inducing' Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it. "Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure the event goes smoothly." So it's clear why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for those with the condition. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely. Jenna is already thinking about coping mechanisms to get her through the holiday dinner. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid distressing triggers. She notes her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining. "It's like this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it." Several Strategies to Manage For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.