A teenager has been cured of her crippling phobia of chewing and slurping, which had been changing her life for 14 years.
For her entire life, Danielle had felt so physically sick any time she heard someone eat or drink around her that she'd be forced to sit alone in restaurants, unable to have her meals near anybody else.
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After years of having to leave the room if anyone even drank a cup of coffee and sitting alone while out for family meals, Danielle's mum, Jayne Beaufoy, eventually took her to the GP to see what was wrong.
Doctors told Danielle, 14, there was nothing they could do, which was when Jayne, a university senior project manager from Coventry, West Midlands, turned to cognitive hypnosis in a bid to help cure her daughter.
Miraculously, it took just one hour of hypnosis to free Danielle from her phobia, and she is now able to eat and drink around friends and family.
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Jayne, 43, said: "Since she was younger she would always complain about the sound of people eating or drinking.
"If she was stood in the kitchen and you were drinking a coffee, she would get very distressed and leave the room immediately.
"Any time we would try to have a family meal at the dining table, she would make an excuse to leave and eat by herself.
"When it came to family occasions, she would make sure she was sat separately in the restaurant when she would eat, or would just refuse to go.
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"But luckily since she has had her hypnotherapy, Danielle has been able to go out for family dinners and sit around the table with us."
While Danielle had experienced her phobia since she was a young child, her mum says it was most noticeable from the age of nine.
She said: "Danielle would always have issues with other people eating, but it wasn't until she was nine that I knew she needed help.
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"We had visited a family-friend's house and she had refused to sit at the table, and got very agitated and upset when they tried to encourage her to join them.
"So when we got home from the trip, I decided to take her to the GP where she had hearing tests - but there was nothing that could be done to help her.
"I initially thought she was just being an awkward pre-teen and thought she would grow out of it, but she was very stubborn about the fact it wasn't just a phase.
"So when I read about hypnotherapy on social media, I knew we had to give it a go - and luckily after one session she gradually started to become less bothered by the sounds."
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Danielle met with cognitive behavioural psychotherapist and neurology expert David Kilmurry, who diagnosed the teenager with 'misophonia' - hatred of sound.
David said: "Danielle was very sweet and sensitive - the family had almost completely lost hope.
"Cognitive behavioural therapy in a light manner is powerful and can help a child question abnormal discomfort and fears.
"Misophonia, having said that, is very different. It is real. You can hear it and it triggers painful nausea so in this case it's a major psychiatric breakthrough.
"It has been life changing for her. Socially, she can now eat out and hear others. It's been dismantled and I cannot be happier for this lovely, kind, hard-working family.
"I'm excited for Danielle and honoured to be part of her personal development. A young person needs doors opened and misophonia had closed many of them."
Since having hypnosis last year, Danielle now enjoys eating with her family at the dinner table, and is also happy to eat out at restaurants with others.
Featured Image Credit: Caters
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