Yuletide Often Proves to Be a Living Hell for Those with Misophonia.

Lottie anticipates seeing her relatives over the holidays, but notes a key strategy she'll cope is by relying on her hearing protection - notably for the main festive feast.

In her case, Christmas can be a particularly difficult period as the noises of family members munching, drinking noisily and nose-blowing make her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I experience this sensation of instant dread, my every muscle will just tighten and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to somehow control these triggers."

Lottie has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that makes the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".

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

It is prevalent in the UK. A study reported a significant portion of people suffer from it.

Typically it's noises associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, along with things like chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

A Source of Dread

She explains: "I face so many assorted problematic noises at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you fear it.

"My relatives are understanding, but I'm very mindful that I don't want to upset others. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to ensure others enjoy themselves."

So it's clear why the traditionally happy season can rapidly become a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.

Triggers that may seem harmless, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can cause a powerful reaction that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.

She, a university student, who has dealt with misophonia for over a decade, states her strategy is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Typically, she would often retreat in a different room to minimize distressing triggers.

She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".

"There's an expectation to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"It's like this sudden rage washes over me, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel panicked and burst into tears and then panic will activate.

"It can come across as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's hard to explain unless you've experienced it."

Three Ways to Manage

If it's an issue then there are various strategies you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.

1. Imagine Something Else: Imagination is essential. Try to associate the triggering sound bothering you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
2. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
3. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to create a little story about the reason someone making the noise is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, it could be that they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Even though the sound stays the same, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.