Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

Lottie hopes for seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - notably for the main festive feast.

For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a particularly difficult period as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing cause her extremely uncomfortable.

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

The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".

Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, particularly those made by those around you.

It's surprisingly common amongst adults. Researchers discovered a significant portion of people experience it.

Typically it's noises linked to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

A Source of Dread

Lottie says: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.

"My family are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to ensure everyone else is happy."

So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for those with the condition.

Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.

The student, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.

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

"There is pressure to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.

"I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, 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 dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."

A Few Techniques to Manage

For those affected then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.

1. Visualise a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is key. Try to associate the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
2. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try joining in. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
3. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise stays the same, your understanding of it shifts from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.