Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

A 23-year-old hopes for being with her relatives during the festive period, but admits a primary method she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for Christmas dinner.

In her case, the holidays often feels like a notably tough time as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her intense distress.

"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises."

Lottie has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people.

It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.

Frequently it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.

A Source of Dread

She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.

"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy."

So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.

Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.

The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid problematic noises.

She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".

"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.

"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will take over.

"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."

A Few Techniques to Handle It

If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.

1. Picture an Alternative: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
2. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.