Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

Lottie hopes for seeing her loved ones this Christmas, but says a primary method she'll cope is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the main festive feast.

In her case, the holidays is a notably tough season as the sounds of other people chewing, sipping loudly and nose-blowing trigger profound anxiety.

"There's this sensation of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises."

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

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to specific noises, notably sounds coming from other people.

The condition is widespread amongst adults. Experts reported nearly 20% people are affected by it.

Frequently it's sounds connected to bodily functions that trigger a reaction, as well as examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.

Triggering Stress

The sufferer notes: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.

"My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to ensure everyone else is happy."

So it's obvious why the most wonderful period can transform into a stressful ordeal for sufferers.

Noises that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a powerful reaction that can even result in them skipping events entirely.

She, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity for over a decade, says the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape problematic noises.

She notes her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so the holidays is always "hard".

"There's an expectation to be around family, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"The sensation is this uncontrollable anger takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then fight-or-flight will kick in.

"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."

A Few Techniques to Handle It

If you suffer then there are various strategies you can use to handle the situation, according to specialists.

1. Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Attempt to link the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
2. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Craft a Story: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or are troubled. By doing this is changing the meaning of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral about it.