Christmas Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but says a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.

For her, the holidays is a notably tough period as the auditory triggers of people eating, slurping and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds."

She has lived with this condition since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds produced by other people.

It is prevalent across the population. A study discovered almost one in five people suffer from it.

Frequently it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

A Source of Dread

Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you want to avoid it.

"Those close to me are supportive, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure others enjoy themselves."

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

Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can cause a strong emotional response that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.

She, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.

She explains her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".

"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then the stress response will activate.

"It can come across as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."

Three Ways to Handle It

For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, according to experts.

1. Imagine a Different Scenario: Imagination is key. Try to associate the triggering sound bothering you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you is neutral.
2. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a competition with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate about it.