The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

Lottie hopes for being with her family this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.

For her, this time of year can be a especially challenging period as the noises of people eating, slurping and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"I get this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to manage these triggers."

The individual has experienced this condition since she was 16 and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".

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

The condition is widespread across the population. Researchers found almost one in five people suffer from it.

Often it's sounds linked to eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

Lottie says: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid 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 really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to make sure others enjoy themselves."

So it's obvious why the traditionally happy time of the year can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.

Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.

The student, a young adult, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.

She explains her condition is more intense around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".

"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will activate.

"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."

A Few Techniques to Manage

If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.

1. Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the specific noise bothering you with something completely different. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
2. Use Humor: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the sound stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.