Christmas Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.

Lottie anticipates spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll endure is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.

In her case, this time of year is a particularly difficult time as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.

"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds."

Lottie has lived with sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by other people.

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

Often it's noises linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.

Triggering Stress

The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it.

"My family are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves."

So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.

Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or enjoying festive food can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.

She, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, explains her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to minimize problematic noises.

She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".

"People assume you to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.

"The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then panic will activate.

"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."

Several Strategies to Cope

For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.

1. Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Attempt to link the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
2. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.