🔗 Share this article Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers. Through experience, people discover strategies to cope with their condition. One young woman hopes for spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal. In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger intense distress. "There's this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, notably sounds coming from other people. The condition is widespread across the population. Experts reported almost one in five people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves." So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Jenna is considering coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid problematic noises. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There is pressure to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Cope For those affected then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.
Through experience, people discover strategies to cope with their condition. One young woman hopes for spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the holiday meal. In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger intense distress. "There's this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these noises." The individual has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing". Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, notably sounds coming from other people. The condition is widespread across the population. Experts reported almost one in five people are affected by it. Typically it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it. "Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves." So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers. Noises that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether. Jenna is considering coping mechanisms to manage the family meal. Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid problematic noises. She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard". "There is pressure to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels. "I feel as if this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it." Three Ways to Cope For those affected then there are a few methods you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists. Imagine a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.