The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Nightmare for Those with Misophonia.

Lottie is looking forward to seeing her relatives over the holidays, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by using her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast.

In her case, the holidays often feels like a notably tough period as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger intense distress.

"There's this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to stop these noises."

Lottie has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises coming from individuals.

It is prevalent in the UK. A study reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.

Typically it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and pen clicking.

'Anxiety Inducing'

The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.

"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a constant struggle of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."

So it's clear why the supposedly joyous season can transform into a living nightmare for sufferers.

Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can provoke a visceral feeling that can even result in them skipping events entirely.

Jenna, a university student, who has experienced sound sensitivity from childhood, states currently her plan is to listen to music to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.

She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".

"People assume you to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"It's like this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will activate.

"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."

Several Strategies to Manage

For those affected then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.

1. Visualise Something Else: Imagination is key. Attempt to link the triggering sound bothering you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to envision someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. The goal is to retrain your mind that the sound triggering you is neutral.
2. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to create a little story about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your reaction of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.