The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.

One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her family during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by wearing her earplugs - especially during the holiday meal.

For the 23-year-old, this time of year can be a especially challenging season as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing make her feel intense distress.

"I get this wave of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."

Lottie has experienced misophonia for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".

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

It's surprisingly common in the UK. A study discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.

Typically it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, along with examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.

A Source of Dread

The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you want to avoid it.

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

So it's clear why the most wonderful time of the year can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers.

Noises that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.

Jenna, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains currently her plan is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to escape triggering sounds.

She notes her misophonia is worse around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "hard".

"People assume you to be around family, and I wish to, but it's draining.

"The sensation is this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in.

"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."

Three Ways to Cope

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

1. Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.