The Holiday Season Can Be a Nightmare for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

One young woman anticipates seeing her loved ones during the festive period, but notes a primary method she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - especially during the main festive feast.

For the 23-year-old, the holidays can be a notably tough time as the noises of other people chewing, drinking noisily and breathing heavily make her feel intense distress.

"There's this feeling of immediate anxiety, my whole body will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in danger, and I need to manage these noises."

The individual has lived with sound sensitivity for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, especially noises produced by individuals.

It's surprisingly common in the UK. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people are affected by it.

Typically it's noises connected to eating or drinking that cause distress, including examples such as chewing, breathing, and foot tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

She explains: "I face so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you dread it.

"My relatives are aware, but I'm very aware that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of managing my symptoms to guarantee everyone else is happy."

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

Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone sipping a beverage, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a visceral feeling that can even result in them avoiding social settings altogether.

Jenna, a university student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity for over a decade, explains her strategy is to put her earphones in to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to minimize problematic noises.

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

"People assume you to socialize with family, and I want to, but it's draining.

"The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and begin to weep and then panic will kick in.

"It may seem as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's hard to explain without firsthand experience."

Three Ways to Manage

If you suffer then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, based on advice from experts.

1. Imagine Something Else: Mental imagery is essential. Try to associate the triggering sound affecting you with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
2. Use Humor: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly attempt copying the noise. Through participation, instead of feeling like the sound is unwanted, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Create a Scenario: One more method is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is having to make that sound. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. While the noise doesn't change, your interpretation of it changes from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.