The Holiday Season Often Proves to Be a Terrifying Experience for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

A 23-year-old anticipates being with her relatives over the holidays, but says one of the only ways she'll cope is by wearing her noise-cancelling devices - notably for the holiday meal.

For her, the holidays often feels like a especially challenging time as the auditory triggers of other people chewing, sipping loudly and sniffling trigger intense distress.

"I get this wave of instant dread, my every muscle will just freeze and it seems as if I'm in peril, and I need to somehow control these sounds."

Lottie has lived with sound sensitivity since she was 16 and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to particular auditory triggers, notably sounds produced by other people.

It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers found a significant portion of people are affected by it.

Often it's noises linked to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, including examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

The sufferer notes: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.

"Those close to me are aware, 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 make sure the event goes smoothly."

So it's easy to understand why the most wonderful period can transform into a stressful ordeal for affected individuals.

Triggers that may appear innocuous, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or enjoying festive food can cause a strong emotional response that can even result in them withdrawing from gatherings.

Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has struggled with sound sensitivity from childhood, states the approach she intends to use is to listen to music to manage the meal. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to minimize triggering sounds.

She notes her condition is more intense around people she's closest to, so the holidays is always "difficult".

"There's an expectation to spend time with family, and I want to, but it's draining.

"It's like this sudden rage takes hold, which can feel awkward, or I'll feel stressed and immediately start crying and then fight-or-flight will kick in.

"It may seem as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey unless you've experienced it."

Three Ways to Manage

For those affected then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from specialists.

1. Imagine an Alternative: Mental imagery is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound bothering you with an unrelated image. So for example, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a waterfall. By doing this is to teach your brain that the sound triggering you poses no threat.
2. Try a Competition: Have a bit of fun and make the irritating noise into a challenge with the culprit. For instance, if someone is crunching loudly try mimicking the sound. By mimicking, rather than feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an active participant. And the competition element should help distract your brain and make you somewhat less sensitive.
3. Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone creating the sound is behaving that way. So if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not in good health or could be emotional. The idea is altering the perception of the sound. Although the sound doesn't change, your understanding of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral about it.