Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.

Lottie hopes for spending time with her family during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.

In her case, this time of year is a particularly difficult time as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"I experience this feeling of sudden panic, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds."

The individual has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".

Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, especially noises made by those around you.

It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.

Often it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that lead to discomfort, as well as things like crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.

Triggering Stress

She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you fear it.

"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."

So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers.

Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.

Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity since aged 10, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to cope. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a quiet area to escape distressing triggers.

She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".

"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.

"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then the stress response will kick in.

"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."

A Few Techniques to Cope

If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.

1. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
2. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the person. As an example, if someone is eating noisily try joining in. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
3. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not in good health or are troubled. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.