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

Lottie hopes for seeing her family during the festive period, but admits a key strategy she'll cope is by using her noise-cancelling devices - particularly at Christmas dinner.

For the 23-year-old, the holidays is a particularly difficult time as the auditory triggers of people eating, drinking noisily and nose-blowing make her feel profound anxiety.

"I get this feeling of instant dread, my whole body will just tense up and it as though I'm in a threatening situation, and I need to manage these noises."

Lottie has experienced sound sensitivity for several years and for her that causes the Christmas time "exceptionally stressful".

Misophonia is a decreased threshold to specific noises, particularly those made by other people.

It is prevalent across the population. Researchers reported a significant portion of people experience it.

Often it's sounds connected to mouth, throat or facial movements that trigger a reaction, as well as things like chewing, heavy breathing, and pen clicking.

A Source of Dread

Lottie says: "You encounter so many various auditory triggers at the holidays and that can be anxiety inducing and make you dread it.

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

So it's clear why the most wonderful season can rapidly become a living nightmare for affected individuals.

Noises that may seem harmless, like someone drinking champagne, rustling a roll of wrapping paper, or eating the holiday meal can provoke a visceral feeling that can even cause them skipping events entirely.

She, a young adult, who has struggled with sound sensitivity since aged 10, states the approach she intends to use is to put her earphones in to get through dinner. Usually, she would frequently go in a different room to avoid problematic noises.

She explains her sensitivity is more pronounced around people she's most comfortable with, so Christmas is always "difficult".

"There is pressure to socialize with loved ones, and I want to, but it's draining.

"I feel as if this uncontrollable anger comes over me, which can feel shameful, or I'll feel panicked and immediately start crying and then panic will take over.

"It can come across as if I'm being unreasonable and melodramatic, but it's difficult to convey if you haven't felt it."

Three Ways to Manage

If it's an issue then there are some different techniques you can attempt to manage the situation, as suggested by clinical psychologists.

1. Visualise Something Else: Creative thinking is key. Work on connecting the particular sound affecting you with a neutral concept. For instance, try to picture someone's noisy drinking is just a sink draining water. This technique is to retrain your mind that the sound affecting you is neutral.
2. Use Humor: Use lightheartedness and turn the annoying sound into a competition with the culprit. For example, if someone is eating noisily have a go at copying the noise. By mimicking, instead of feeling like the sound is being imposed on you, you become an willing part. 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 behaving that way. Imagine if someone was making a nasal sound, it could be that they're not feeling well or are troubled. The idea is re-framing the context of the sound. Although the noise stays the same, your reaction of it shifts from being annoying, to feeling a slightly more compassionate towards it.