A TEEN has never sat down to eat Christmas dinner with his family – and it’s all due to a rare condition he has.
Grayson Whitaker has lived with misophonia, a condition that causes an extreme emotional reaction to certain everyday noises, since he was a child.
The sound of people breathing, yawning, sniffing and chewing fills the 19-year-old with anger.
He can’t even enjoy a Christmas meal with his parents Alex, 51, and Dawn, 54, as he locks himself away in his bedroom to avoid flying into a rage.
“I have never had Christmas dinner with my family so I don’t have those nice memories,” Grayson said.
“I just lock myself away in my room.
“That’s always been upsetting for my parents. I think that broke them.
“I would loved to have been downstairs with them rather than being stuck in my room on my own but I physically couldn’t because of the sounds.
“It’s an overwhelming rage that comes over me and I don’t want to take it out on them.”
The McDonald’s shift manager moved out of the family home as he can’t bear the every day noises that his parents make.
He moved in with partner, Beth, 21, and now has his own room where he can enjoy silence.
Grayson said: “I remember when I was a child having to leave the room if my dad sniffed.
“The anger was overwhelming.
“I didn’t know how to speak about my emotions so my parents thought I was being a brat.
“They didn’t realise there was something actually wrong until I started scratching my legs.
“I have my own space now I live with Beth. She’s really understanding and I appreciate that.
“Working at McDonald’s is good for me because it’s so loud that the noises that trigger me are drowned out.”
Over the years, Grayson, of Leeds, West Yorks, has contacted his GP, tried private therapy and hypnotherapy in the hopes of curing his condition.
He said: “Nobody knows what misophonia is or how to help.
“I’ve tried everything.
Misophonia is an extreme emotional reaction to certain everyday sounds that most people would find relatively easy to ignore.
The three main types of sounds that disturb people with misophonia are eating, nose and throat sounds, and repetitive environmental sounds like keyboard tapping and rustling paper.
Whilst many people find these noises annoying, individuals with misophonia describe an intense feeling of disgust, anger, distress, or panic that escalates while the sound is still present.
This can happen even when the sound is at a very low volume.
They report physical sensations like a racing heart, shortness of breath, tension and feeling hot.
They often describe a feeling trapped, helpless, and out of control when they can’t get away from these sounds.
“A therapist took me to a gym to box out my anger and that helped for a while.
“Hypnosis helped for a while and I had a really peaceful few months then one day I was triggered again.”
Grayson even had to drop out of school in year nine because he couldn’t handle sounds from his classmates.
He said: “School was really hard.
“I stopped going in year nine and then I isolated myself for five years. I just went to my room and stayed there.
“I ate meals there and I had to learn to enjoy my own company.
“In the past, I’ve lashed out at my family for yawning so I try to stay away from people.”
Grayson is sharing his story to help raise some awareness of the condition.
He added: “My dad tried to explain my condition to someone once and they said I was making it up to get benefits.
“People don’t really understand which is really difficult.
“Hopefully one day I’ll be able to suck it up and have Christmas with my family and partner.”
