Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Misophonia Sufferers.

Lottie anticipates spending time with her family over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.

In her case, the holidays is a particularly difficult period as the noises of other people chewing, slurping and sniffling trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"There's this wave of sudden panic, my whole body will just tense up and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."

The individual has experienced misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises coming from those around you.

It is prevalent in the UK. A study discovered nearly 20% people experience it.

Typically it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

Lottie says: "I face so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.

"My family are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure everyone else is happy."

So it's clear why the supposedly joyous time of the year can quickly turn into a living nightmare for affected individuals.

Triggers that may be considered normal, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, unwrapping gifts, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.

The student, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with misophonia for over a decade, states her strategy is to use headphones to get through dinner. Typically, she would frequently go in a quiet area to avoid distressing triggers.

She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "difficult".

"There's an expectation to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"I feel as if this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then the stress response will take over.

"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."

Three Ways to Cope

For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, based on advice from experts.

1. Picture a Different Scenario: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
2. Try a Competition: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help distract your brain and make you a little less affected.
3. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about why the person making the noise is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.