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

One young woman anticipates spending time with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes a primary method she'll endure is by relying on her earplugs - notably for the holiday meal.

For her, the holidays often feels like a particularly difficult time as the noises of other people chewing, slurping and breathing heavily trigger profound anxiety.

"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it feels like I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these noises."

She has lived with this condition from a young age and for her that makes the festive season "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by individuals.

It's surprisingly common across the population. A study found almost one in five people experience it.

Frequently it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.

A Source of Dread

The sufferer notes: "I face so many various auditory triggers at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear it.

"My family are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a internal conflict of enduring my distress to make sure others enjoy themselves."

So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a living nightmare for sufferers.

Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.

The student, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, states currently her plan is to listen to music to cope. On any other day, she would often retreat in a quiet area to escape triggering sounds.

She explains her condition is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".

"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, 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 stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in.

"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe unless you've experienced it."

A Few Techniques to Cope

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

1. Imagine Something Else: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the particular 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 help your brain learn that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
2. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a challenge involving the source. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
3. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to fabricate an explanation about why the person creating the sound is behaving that way. For example if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is altering the perception of the sound. While the sound remains identical, your interpretation of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.