Christmas Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.

A 23-year-old hopes for spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.

For the 23-year-old, Christmas can be a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, slurping and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.

"There's this wave of sudden panic, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these sounds."

Lottie has suffered from sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the Christmas time "deeply taxing".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises coming from those around you.

The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.

Frequently it's noises associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, including things like chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.

'Anxiety Inducing'

She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.

"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of managing my symptoms to guarantee others enjoy themselves."

So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful season can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.

Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a powerful reaction that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.

Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia from childhood, explains the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. On any other day, she would frequently go in a quiet area to escape problematic noises.

She says her sensitivity is worse around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".

"There is pressure to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

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

"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."

Several Strategies to Manage

If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.

1. Imagine a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise bothering you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
2. Make it a Game: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help redirect your focus and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. The idea is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.