🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity. Over the years, individuals discover methods to cope with their sound sensitivity. Lottie hopes for spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal. For her, Christmas can be a particularly difficult season as the noises of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds." She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises coming from those around you. It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported nearly 20% people experience it. Typically it's sounds linked to bodily functions that cause distress, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is considering strategies to help her during the holiday dinner. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says her strategy is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize problematic noises. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard". "People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Handle It If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.
Over the years, individuals discover methods to cope with their sound sensitivity. Lottie hopes for spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal. For her, Christmas can be a particularly difficult season as the noises of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable. "I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds." She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises coming from those around you. It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported nearly 20% people experience it. Typically it's sounds linked to bodily functions that cause distress, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. 'Anxiety Inducing' The sufferer notes: "There are so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings. A 21-year-old student is considering strategies to help her during the holiday dinner. The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says her strategy is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize problematic noises. She explains her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard". "People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining. "It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will take over. "To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience." A Few Techniques to Handle It If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is crucial. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.