The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Those with Misophonia.

One young woman is looking forward to being with her family during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.

For the 23-year-old, Christmas is a notably tough period as the sounds of family members munching, slurping and breathing heavily trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to stop these noises."

Lottie has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises produced by other people.

It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts reported almost one in five people experience it.

Frequently it's sounds connected to bodily functions that cause distress, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.

A Source of Dread

She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.

"My family are understanding, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to guarantee others enjoy themselves."

So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers.

Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them withdrawing from gatherings.

The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia since aged 10, says her strategy is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.

She explains her condition is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "hard".

"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.

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

"To others it appears as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."

Several Strategies to Cope

If you suffer then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from specialists.

1. Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By joining in, instead of feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an willing part. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.