Christmas Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.

One young woman hopes for seeing her family during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.

For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a notably tough time as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and nose-blowing cause her intense distress.

"I get this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these triggers."

Lottie has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that renders the Christmas time "deeply taxing".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds coming from other people.

It's surprisingly common amongst adults. A study discovered a significant portion of people experience it.

Often it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

A Source of Dread

The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.

"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."

So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.

Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.

The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would often retreat in a separate space to avoid triggering sounds.

She says her condition is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "challenging".

"People assume you to be around family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will take over.

"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."

A Few Techniques to Manage

For those affected then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.

1. Picture an Alternative: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
2. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
3. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.