Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.

Lottie is looking forward to being with her loved ones over the holidays, but admits a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - especially during Christmas dinner.

For her, the holidays is a notably tough time as the noises of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily trigger intense distress.

"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these sounds."

She has suffered from sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by those around you.

The condition is widespread amongst adults. Researchers found almost one in five people suffer from it.

Often it's sounds linked to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, including things like crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

She explains: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.

"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure the event goes smoothly."

So it's obvious why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.

Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.

Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, states her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.

She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays 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 comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.

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

Several Strategies to Handle It

For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, according to clinical psychologists.

1. Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with something completely different. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
2. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than 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 somewhat less sensitive.
3. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.