Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.

A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her loved ones over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by using her hearing protection - especially during the holiday meal.

For her, the holidays can be a especially challenging season as the sounds of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.

"There's this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these sounds."

The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from other people.

It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.

Typically it's noises linked to bodily functions that cause distress, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.

'Anxiety Inducing'

Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.

"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure everyone else is happy."

So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.

Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them skipping events entirely.

She, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, states her strategy is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape distressing triggers.

She says her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".

"People assume you to spend time with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.

"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in.

"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."

Several Strategies to Handle It

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

1. Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
2. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
3. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.