Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.

One young woman is looking forward to being with her family during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her earplugs - especially during Christmas dinner.

For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a notably tough period as the sounds of family members munching, sipping loudly and sniffling make her feel intense distress.

"I experience this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."

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

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

It's surprisingly common in the UK. Experts reported nearly 20% people experience it.

Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.

A Source of Dread

She explains: "There are so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you fear it.

"My family are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."

So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals.

Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.

She, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, says her strategy is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.

She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "challenging".

"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.

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

"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."

A Few Techniques to Manage

If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.

1. Imagine Something Else: Imagination is key. Work on connecting the triggering sound causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or maybe they're upset. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.