Yuletide Can Be a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

Lottie is looking forward to being with her loved ones over the holidays, but notes one of the only ways she'll endure is by relying on her hearing protection - especially during Christmas dinner.

In her case, this time of year can be a notably tough time as the sounds of family members munching, drinking noisily and breathing heavily cause her extremely uncomfortable.

"I experience this feeling of instant dread, my entire being will just tense up and it as though I'm in peril, and I need to stop these sounds."

The individual has suffered from sound sensitivity for several years and for her that renders the holiday period "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a reduced tolerance to certain sounds, especially noises coming from those around you.

It's surprisingly common across the population. Researchers discovered nearly 20% people suffer from it.

Often it's sounds associated with eating or drinking that cause distress, including things like chewing, breathing, and repetitive finger tapping.

A Source of Dread

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

"My relatives are supportive, but I'm very conscious that I don't want to spoil the mood. It's like a really big battle of sacrificing my own sanity to ensure the event goes smoothly."

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

Noises that may appear innocuous, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or tucking into a Christmas dinner can provoke a strong emotional response that can even result in them skipping events entirely.

Jenna, a young adult, who has dealt with sound sensitivity from childhood, explains her strategy is to use headphones to manage the meal. Usually, she would usually isolate herself in a separate space to escape triggering sounds.

She notes her misophonia is more pronounced around people she's closest to, so Christmas is always "hard".

"There's an expectation to spend time with loved ones, and I desire to, but it's draining.

"The sensation is this intense irritation washes over me, which can feel embarrassing, or I'll feel stressed and begin to weep and then the stress response will take over.

"To others it appears as if I'm being difficult and melodramatic, but it's tough to describe if you haven't felt it."

Several Strategies to Handle It

If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, based on advice from clinical psychologists.

1. Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the particular sound causing distress with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's slurping is just a waterfall. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
2. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and make the irritating noise into a game involving the source. As an example, if someone is eating noisily attempt copying the noise. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an engaged person. And the competition element should help redirect your focus and make you a little less affected.
3. Create a Scenario: A further strategy is to try to invent a reason about the reason someone making the noise is having to make that sound. For example if someone was sniffing, maybe they are not at their best or maybe they're upset. This approach is changing the meaning of the sound. Even though the sound doesn't change, your reaction of it moves from being annoying, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.