Christmas Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.

Lottie is looking forward to being with her family over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner.

For her, Christmas can be a especially challenging time as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily trigger intense distress.

"I get this feeling of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to stop these triggers."

She has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that renders the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by other people.

It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts reported almost one in five people suffer from it.

Frequently it's noises associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

The sufferer notes: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.

"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee the event goes smoothly."

So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can transform into a living nightmare for those with the condition.

Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.

She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to put her earphones in to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.

She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".

"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's draining.

"I feel as if this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will take over.

"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe without firsthand experience."

Three Ways to Cope

For those affected then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to experts.

1. Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is crucial. Try to associate the triggering sound bothering you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. The goal is to help your brain learn that the sound affecting you is neutral.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a competition involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
3. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not at their best or maybe they're upset. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.