Christmas Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.

One young woman hopes for spending time with her relatives over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.

For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."

She has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, particularly those made by those around you.

It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts discovered a significant portion of people are affected by it.

Frequently it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

Lottie says: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.

"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."

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

Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.

Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, says currently her plan is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.

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

"People assume you to socialize with loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"It's like this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will activate.

"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."

A Few Techniques to Handle It

If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.

1. Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise bothering you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you is neutral.
2. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the noise remains identical, your reaction of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.