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

One young woman hopes for spending time with her family over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner.

For her, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable.

"I get this sensation of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these triggers."

She has experienced sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to specific noises, particularly those made by individuals.

The condition is widespread across the population. Experts found nearly 20% people suffer from it.

Frequently it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.

Triggering Stress

Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.

"My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."

So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous time of the year can transform into a source of agony for sufferers.

Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can trigger a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.

Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, says currently her plan is to use headphones to manage the meal. Typically, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid problematic noises.

She notes her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "difficult".

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

"It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then panic will kick in.

"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."

Several Strategies to Manage

If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from specialists.

1. Imagine Something Else: Imagination is crucial. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily attempt mimicking the sound. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an willing part. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
3. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.