I never had Christmas dinner with family, says a teenager with a rare condition called 'misophonia’.

A teen, Grayson Whitaker, from Leeds in the UK, has never in his life sat down with his family to enjoy Christmas dinner as he suffers from a rare condition called 'misophonia.’

"I have never had Christmas dinner with my family, so I don't have those nice memories," Grayson said.

This neurological condition triggers extreme emotional reactions to everyday sounds like breathing, yawning, sniffing, and chewing. These noises irk Grayson and make him angry, which makes it feel like swallowing a hard pill for him to enjoy Christmas dinner with his family.

Also Read:Rare Disease Day: Challenges in protecting newborns from rare growth-affecting conditions

A life with struggle

I have never had Christmas dinner with my family, so I don’t have those nice memories," he told a British tabloid, The Sun. "I’d love to be downstairs with them, but the overwhelming rage keeps me away. I don’t want to take it out on them," he said.

Although he has tried many treatments, including private therapy and hypnotherapy, seeking a cure remains uncertain.

His parents, Alex, 51, and Dawn, 54, had let go of his reactions at times, considering it childhood frenzy.

"I didn’t know how to explain my emotions back then, so they thought I was being a brat," he said. "It wasn’t until I started scratching my legs that they realised something was wrong."

"My dad once tried to explain my condition to someone, and they accused me of making it up to get benefits," he said. "That’s been one of the hardest things—people just don’t understand."

Watch |Celebrities who've been diagnosed with rare diseases & more

'Misophonia' effects

> Sounds such as chewing, breathing, sniffing, yawning, and even repetitive noises like pen clicking or keyboard tapping are some of the triggering sounds.

> A soft or low-volume trigger can cause emotional and physical symptoms in an individual who is affected by this.

> The ones who are affected often have difficulty breathing, palpitations, muscle pain, or losing control. It hits in childhood or even adolescence but the extremity varies from one person to another person.

The main cause of this condition is unclear presently, but the researchers feel it involves the abnormal connection between the emotional and auditory processing centers of the brain.

Efforts for awareness

Respective to the fact that the condition is getting recognised, it is clearly not understood well, and there is no standardised treatment for it. However, the management aid is there to control it, like sound therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and the use of noise-canceling devices used to reduce the triggers.

Grayson comes with a hope that sharing his story will bring great impact to awareness of misophonia, a condition that remains misunderstood.

"I’d love to be able to suck it up one day and have Christmas dinner with my family and partner. That would mean everything to me," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)