Yuletide Transforms Into a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

One young woman hopes for being with her family during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal.

For her, the holidays can be a especially challenging time as the noises of people eating, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"There's this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."

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

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, particularly those made by those around you.

It is prevalent amongst adults. A study reported a significant portion of people experience it.

Often it's noises connected to bodily functions that lead to discomfort, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas 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 upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to ensure others enjoy themselves."

So it's clear why the most wonderful season can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.

Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.

Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid distressing triggers.

She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".

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

"The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will kick in.

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

Several Strategies to Manage

If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.

1. Picture an Alternative: Imagination is crucial. Attempt to link the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
2. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. For example if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.