Yuletide Can Be a Nightmare for Misophonia Sufferers.

One young woman hopes for spending time with her loved ones during the festive period, but says one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by relying on her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at the holiday meal.

In her case, this time of year is a particularly difficult season as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable.

"I get this wave of instant dread, my whole body will just tighten and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to manage these sounds."

She has lived with misophonia for several years and for her that makes the festive season "deeply taxing".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those coming from individuals.

It is prevalent amongst adults. Experts reported almost one in five people are affected by it.

Often it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.

A Source of Dread

She explains: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be daunting and make you want to avoid it.

"My relatives are aware, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable. It's like a constant struggle of sacrificing my own sanity to guarantee the event goes smoothly."

So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy season can transform into a source of agony for affected individuals.

Sounds that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, opening presents, or eating the holiday meal can trigger a visceral feeling that can even lead to them avoiding social settings altogether.

She, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with misophonia from childhood, says the approach she intends to use is to use headphones to cope. On any other day, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid distressing triggers.

She explains her sensitivity is more intense around people she's most familiar with, so the holidays is always "challenging".

"There is pressure to be around loved ones, and I wish to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"I feel as if this intense irritation takes hold, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and burst into tears and then panic will take over.

"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and dramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."

Several Strategies to Handle It

For those affected then there are various strategies you can try to cope the situation, as suggested by specialists.

1. Visualise Something Else: Mental imagery is crucial. Try to associate the triggering sound causing distress with an unrelated image. As an illustration, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to help your brain learn that the sound triggering you isn't harmful.
2. Make it a Game: Introduce playfulness and make the irritating noise into a game with the culprit. For instance, if someone is eating noisily try copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of 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 somewhat less sensitive.
3. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. Imagine if someone was sniffing, perhaps they're not feeling well or could be emotional. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.