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

A 23-year-old anticipates spending time with her relatives during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner.

For her, Christmas often feels like a particularly difficult period as the noises of people eating, drinking noisily and sniffling make her feel intense distress.

"I experience this wave of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just tense up and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."

Lottie has lived with misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from individuals.

It is prevalent across the population. Experts discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.

Frequently it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, along with things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.

'Anxiety Inducing'

Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.

"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure everyone else is happy."

So it's clear why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.

Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.

Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, says currently her plan is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize distressing triggers.

She says her condition is worse around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "challenging".

"People assume you to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's draining.

"The sensation is this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will take over.

"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."

A Few Techniques to Manage

For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by specialists.

1. Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the particular sound affecting you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
2. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not at their best or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.