The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

A 23-year-old is looking forward to being with her loved ones this Christmas, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for Christmas dinner.

In her case, the holidays often feels like a notably tough season as the noises of other people chewing, sipping loudly and breathing heavily trigger intense distress.

"There's this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just tense up and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."

Lottie has suffered from misophonia from a young age and for her that makes the Christmas time "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises made by those around you.

The condition is widespread across the population. A study reported nearly 20% people experience it.

Typically it's sounds associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.

Triggering Stress

Lottie says: "I face 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 mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of managing my symptoms to make sure others enjoy themselves."

So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for sufferers.

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

Jenna, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia since aged 10, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.

She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".

"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"The sensation is this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then fight-or-flight will take over.

"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."

Several Strategies to Handle It

If you suffer then there are a few methods you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.

1. Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you is neutral.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the person. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Even though the noise doesn't change, your understanding of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.