“For most people, sitting down to Christmas dinner is a happy occasion. For me, it takes a huge effort to have a family meal with my mum, dad and fiancé Matthew – I have to wear earplugs at the table. In fact, I wear industrial foam earplugs 22 hours a day. Of course, this makes everyday life more difficult, but I can still hear people talking, while blocking out background noise.
If I told you I hate it when people eat with their mouths open, you’d say, ‘me too’, but it’s probably not to the extent I hate it. I’d never, ever be violent, but I have horrible, irrational thoughts of hitting people, screaming and swearing at them, or throwing their food at them. I can’t stand hearing people eat, chew, sniff, breathe heavily or cough, or the slurping sound of drinking. Pen clicking or tapping drives me mad, too.