The Holiday Season Transforms Into a Living Hell for Individuals Living with Sound Sensitivity.

One young woman is looking forward to seeing her loved ones during the festive period, but says a key strategy she'll endure is by wearing her hearing protection - notably for the holiday meal.

For the 23-year-old, this time of year often feels like a particularly difficult period as the auditory triggers of family members munching, drinking noisily and sniffling cause her extremely uncomfortable.

"I get this feeling of sudden panic, my entire being will just freeze and it feels like I'm in danger, and I need to manage these sounds."

She has lived with sound sensitivity from a young age and for her that renders the festive season "incredibly overwhelming".

Misophonia is an intense sensitivity to particular auditory triggers, especially noises produced by other people.

It is prevalent across the population. A study discovered a significant portion of people experience it.

Frequently it's noises associated with bodily functions that lead to discomfort, as well as examples such as crunching, heavy breathing, and foot tapping.

'Anxiety Inducing'

She explains: "I face so many different triggering sounds at the holidays and that can be stressful and make you dread it.

"My family are aware, 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 make sure the event goes smoothly."

So it's obvious why the supposedly joyous period can quickly turn into a source of agony for affected individuals.

Noises that may seem harmless, like someone slurping a Buck's fizz, opening presents, or enjoying festive food can cause a powerful reaction that can even cause them avoiding social settings altogether.

Jenna, a 21-year-old student, who has dealt with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. On any other day, she would frequently go in a separate space to escape distressing triggers.

She says her misophonia is worse around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "challenging".

"People assume you to be around family, and I desire to, but it's draining.

"The sensation is this sudden rage comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel anxious and immediately start crying and then the stress response will kick in.

"It may seem as if I'm being oversensitive and dramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."

Several Strategies to Cope

If you suffer then there are some different techniques you can use to handle the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.

1. Picture a Different Scenario: Creative thinking is crucial. Work on connecting the specific noise affecting you with something completely different. For instance, try to imagine someone's noisy drinking is just a gentle stream. This technique is to teach your brain that the sound affecting you poses no threat.
2. Try a Competition: Introduce playfulness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. As an example, if someone is crunching loudly attempt mimicking the sound. By joining in, rather than feeling like the sound is an attack, you become an active participant. And the challenge should help shift your attention and make you a little less affected.
3. Develop a Narrative: A further strategy is to try to create a little story about why the person making the noise is having to make that sound. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, maybe they are not at their best or are troubled. By doing this is altering the perception of the sound. While the noise stays the same, your interpretation of it moves from being aggravating, to feeling a little more neutral towards it.