🔗 Share this article Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia. With time, sufferers develop strategies to cope with their misophonia. A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner. For her, the holidays can be a especially challenging period as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety. "There's this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises." She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by other people. It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts discovered nearly 20% people experience it. Frequently it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, along with examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is considering coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to escape distressing triggers. She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard". "There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Manage For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists. Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.
With time, sufferers develop strategies to cope with their misophonia. A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her family this Christmas, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner. For her, the holidays can be a especially challenging period as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety. "There's this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises." She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by other people. It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts discovered nearly 20% people experience it. Frequently it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, along with examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking. A Source of Dread The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it. "My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to guarantee the event goes smoothly." So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals. Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is considering coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to escape distressing triggers. She explains her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "hard". "There is pressure to be around family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Manage For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists. Picture a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.