Yuletide Transforms Into a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.

One young woman is looking forward to spending time with her relatives this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during the main festive feast.

For her, Christmas is a particularly difficult season as the noises of family members munching, slurping and nose-blowing make her feel intense distress.

"I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my entire being will just freeze 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 an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, especially noises made by those around you.

The condition is widespread across the population. Experts reported almost one in five people are affected by it.

Often it's sounds associated with mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including things like crunching, breathing, and pen clicking.

A Source of Dread

Lottie says: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you dread it.

"My family are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to ensure others enjoy themselves."

So it's easy to understand why the supposedly joyous season can quickly turn into a living nightmare for those with the condition.

Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.

The student, a young adult, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid problematic noises.

She says her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "difficult".

"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.

"The sensation is this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will activate.

"To others it appears as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."

Several Strategies to Cope

If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to experts.

1. Picture Something Else: Imagination is essential. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with an unrelated image. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
2. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
3. Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Although the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it shifts from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.