Yuletide Can Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

One young woman hopes for being with her loved ones over the holidays, but says a key strategy she'll cope is by wearing her earplugs - particularly at the holiday meal.

For her, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, sipping loudly and breathing heavily make her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I experience this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these triggers."

She has suffered from misophonia for several years and for her that makes the holiday period "deeply taxing".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to certain sounds, notably sounds coming from those around you.

It's surprisingly common across the population. Experts discovered a significant portion of people suffer from it.

Frequently it's noises connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, along with examples such as chewing, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

A Source of Dread

She explains: "There are so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be daunting and make you dread it.

"Those close to me are understanding, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to upset others. It's like a internal conflict of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure everyone else is happy."

So it's obvious why the traditionally happy period can rapidly become a source of agony for those with the condition.

Sounds that may be considered normal, like someone sipping a beverage, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can trigger a strong emotional response that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.

Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says currently her plan is to listen to music to get through dinner. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to avoid problematic noises.

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

"There's an expectation to socialize with family, and I wish to, but it's physically and mentally challenging.

"The sensation is this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel anxious and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.

"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."

Three Ways to Handle It

For those affected then there are a few methods you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by experts.

1. Visualise an Alternative: Mental imagery is key. Attempt to link the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. So for example, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a sink draining water. By doing this is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you isn't harmful.
2. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly try joining in. Through participation, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an engaged person. And the competition element 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 the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was making a nasal sound, perhaps they're not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.