Christmas Transforms Into a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.

Lottie is looking forward to being with her family during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by relying on her earplugs - especially during the main festive feast.

In her case, Christmas often feels like a especially challenging season as the noises of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable.

"I get this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."

She has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those coming from those around you.

It's surprisingly common in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.

Often it's noises associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, including things like crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.

A Source of Dread

She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.

"My family are supportive, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. 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 time of the year can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.

Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can provoke a powerful reaction that can even cause them skipping events entirely.

Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. Typically, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape distressing triggers.

She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".

"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's draining.

"I feel as if this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in.

"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."

Three Ways to Manage

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

1. Picture Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
2. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Craft a Story: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.