🔗 Share this article The Holiday Season Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia. Through experience, people develop ways to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman anticipates seeing her relatives over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a notably tough season as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress. "I get this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers." The individual has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that renders the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, notably sounds coming from those around you. The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study discovered nearly 20% people experience it. Typically it's noises connected to bodily functions that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about coping mechanisms to help her during the holiday dinner. She, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, states 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 triggering sounds. She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.
Through experience, people develop ways to cope with their sound sensitivity. One young woman anticipates seeing her relatives over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal. For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a notably tough season as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling trigger intense distress. "I get this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers." The individual has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that renders the holiday period "exceptionally stressful". Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, notably sounds coming from those around you. The condition is widespread amongst adults. A study discovered nearly 20% people experience it. Typically it's noises connected to bodily functions that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping. A Source of Dread She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it. "My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee everyone else is happy." So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a living nightmare for affected individuals. Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether. A 21-year-old student is already thinking about coping mechanisms to help her during the holiday dinner. She, a university student, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, states 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 triggering sounds. She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "difficult". "There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging. "The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will activate. "It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience." Three Ways to Cope For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected. Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.