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

A 23-year-old anticipates being with her loved ones during the festive period, but notes one of the only ways she'll manage to get through it is by using her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.

In her case, this time of year is a especially challenging season as the sounds of people eating, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger profound anxiety.

"I experience this sensation of sudden panic, my whole body will just freeze and it as though I'm in danger, and I need to stop these sounds."

The individual has suffered from misophonia since she was 16 and for her that makes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, especially noises made by those around you.

The condition is widespread across the population. Experts reported a significant portion of people experience it.

Often it's sounds connected to eating or drinking that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, breathing, and foot tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

She explains: "You encounter so many assorted problematic noises at Christmas and that can be stressful and make you fear 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 really big battle of managing my symptoms to make sure the event goes smoothly."

So it's easy to understand why the traditionally happy period can quickly turn into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.

Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, unwrapping gifts, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a powerful reaction that can even lead to them skipping events entirely.

The student, a 21-year-old student, who has experienced sound sensitivity for over a decade, says her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. On any other day, she would usually isolate herself in a different room to minimize triggering sounds.

She explains her condition is worse around people she's most familiar with, so Christmas is always "challenging".

"There is pressure to be around family, and I desire to, but it's exhausting on all levels.

"It's like this intense irritation comes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then panic will activate.

"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and overreacting, but it's difficult to convey without firsthand experience."

Three Ways to Handle It

If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from experts.

1. Imagine an Alternative: Mental imagery is essential. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. For instance, try to imagine someone's slurping is just a waterfall. The goal is to retrain your mind 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 example, if someone is crunching loudly have a go at joining in. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the game aspect should help shift your attention and make you slightly more tolerant.
3. Create a Scenario: Another technique is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is doing it. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or maybe they're upset. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. While the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it changes from being irritating, to feeling a bit more accepting about it.