Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.

A 23-year-old is looking forward to spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll manage to get through it is by using her earplugs - notably for Christmas dinner.

For her, Christmas can be a notably tough period as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her profound anxiety.

"I experience this sensation of immediate anxiety, my every muscle will just freeze and it feels like I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises."

She has experienced misophonia from a young age and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".

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

It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts found a significant portion of people suffer from it.

Often it's noises connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, as well as examples such as chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

A Source of Dread

She explains: "There are so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.

"Those close to me are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."

So it's clear why the most wonderful season can quickly turn into a source of agony for sufferers.

Sounds that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them withdrawing from gatherings.

She, a university student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, states her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape problematic noises.

She says her misophonia is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult".

"There's an expectation to be around family, and I want to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.

"It's like 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 take over.

"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."

A Few Techniques to Manage

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

1. Visualise an Alternative: Imagination is key. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with something completely different. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
2. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge with the person. For example, if someone is eating noisily attempt joining in. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not in good health or could be emotional. This approach is re-framing the context of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a bit more accepting towards it.