Yuletide Transforms Into a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.

Lottie is looking forward to being with her loved ones during the festive period, but admits one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.

For the 23-year-old, the holidays often feels like a notably tough time as the sounds of other people chewing, drinking noisily and nose-blowing trigger extremely uncomfortable.

"There's this wave of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these triggers."

She has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that causes the holiday period "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to certain sounds, particularly those coming from individuals.

The condition is widespread in the UK. Experts reported a significant portion of people are affected by it.

Typically it's noises connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including things like crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

She explains: "You encounter so many different triggering sounds at Christmas and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.

"My family are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to upset others. It's like a really big battle of enduring my distress to make sure the event goes smoothly."

So it's obvious why the most wonderful period can rapidly become a source of agony for sufferers.

Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.

She, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced misophonia from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to avoid triggering sounds.

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

"There is pressure to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"The sensation is this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then panic will kick in.

"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."

A Few Techniques to Cope

For those affected then there are some different techniques you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.

1. Picture Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with something completely different. For instance, try to envision someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
2. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt joining in. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Develop a Narrative: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. So if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise remains identical, your understanding of it moves from being irritating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.