Christmas Can Be a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.

One young woman anticipates seeing her relatives over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the main festive feast.

For the 23-year-old, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.

"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my entire being will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."

The individual has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by other people.

It is prevalent in the UK. Experts reported almost one in five people experience it.

Often it's noises associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

Lottie says: "I face so many assorted problematic noises 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 make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves."

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

Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.

The student, a university student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.

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

"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.

"It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.

"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."

Three Ways to Handle It

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

1. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
2. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Craft a Story: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.