Yuletide Transforms Into a Living Hell for Misophonia Sufferers.

One young woman anticipates being with her family during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast.

In her case, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel profound anxiety.

"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."

Lottie has suffered from this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those coming from those around you.

It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers reported almost one in five people are affected by it.

Frequently it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that trigger a reaction, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.

Triggering Stress

She explains: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.

"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."

So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.

Noises that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a strong emotional response that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.

The student, a young adult, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Usually, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.

She notes her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".

"People assume you to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's draining.

"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will kick in.

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

Three Ways to Manage

If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts.

1. Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Develop a Narrative: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.