The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

One young woman hopes for spending time with her loved ones this Christmas, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by using her hearing protection - particularly at Christmas dinner.

For the 23-year-old, this time of year often feels like a especially challenging period as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"I get this sensation of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to somehow control these noises."

She has lived with this condition for several years and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, particularly those produced by those around you.

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

Frequently it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

Triggering Stress

The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.

"Those close to me 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 the event goes smoothly."

So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a source of agony for those with the condition.

Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.

Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, explains the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.

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

"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will take over.

"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's hard to explain if you haven't felt it."

Three Ways to Handle It

If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.

1. Picture an Alternative: Mental imagery is key. Work on connecting the specific noise causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. The goal 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 challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help distract your brain 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 doing it. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or maybe they're upset. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. Although the noise remains identical, your interpretation of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.