Phonophobia (fear of loud sounds): what is it, symptoms, causes and treatment

Highly sensitive people or PAS people have a high sensitivity to external stimuli, among which are loud sounds and loud that appear unexpectedly, causing them discomfort and making them prefer to be in places without these types of sounds, where there are more tranquillity.

This does not mean that they present irrational fear of loud and sudden sounds, and it is what differentiates them, among other characteristics, from people who suffer from phonophobia. Therefore, if you want to know more about phonophobia: what is it, what are its symptoms, causes and treatment, keep reading! In this Psychology-Online article we explain in detail everything you might be interested in knowing about phonophobia.

Index

1. What is phonophobia
2. Symptoms of phonophobia
3. Causes of phonophobia
4. Treatment of phonophobia

The term phonophobia, from the Greek phones (sound) and phobos (afraid). And although many initially associate the term with hearing, phonophobia is a

If you would like to know more about the symptoms of phonophobia or intolerance to noise, here are its main symptoms:

• Negative references to sudden loud sounds.
• excessive avoidance and escape from these stimuli.
• Hyperventilation and palpitations.
• intense anxiety in the face of erroneous estimates of threat, that is, in the face of the meanings attributed to the stimulus and the evoked response of fear.
• appearance of others derived disorders of this phobia.

The cause is not only a stressor or an experience, or the biological predisposition of the individual, but we will always keep in mind the interaction between genetics and the environment. So what causes phonophobia? Below we reveal the main reasons why phonophobia or fear of noise arises:

• The subject suffering from phonophobia surely has a biological vulnerability widespread that, together with the stress level that you experience will create a sense of false alarm, which will end up becoming a learned alarm, generating psychological vulnerability.
• This vulnerability is influenced by the apprenticeships, either directly or vicariously from other real alarms. This cycle gives rise to the appearance of anxiety disorders and phobias.

Phobias are treated with repeated exposure to the phobic stimulus, in this case, the irrational fear of sudden loud sounds. In this way, a new learning is generated where these sounds become harmless to the person suffering from the phobia. Below we explain the characteristics of this type of treatment for phonophobia:

• therapeutic process. This is a process that can become traumatic for the patient, who faces this because he does not have the tools necessary to deal with the situation at the moment when anxiety appears, and there begins to be an increase in the response physiological.
• therapeutic relationship. It is important that the therapist/psychologist dedicate the first sessions to generating a good therapeutic alliance (create a good bond) so that the patient can feel safe, that he is in an environment that provides calm and quiet and in which he can face complicated situations such as exposure to strong and sudden sounds.
• therapeutic work. In addition, these first sessions should also provide the patient with the necessary tools to reduce the associated anxious symptomatology; so you will be taught anxiety control and relaxation techniques that you can use when we work on exposure to the stimulus. Once the techniques have been acquired, work begins on exposure therapy or systematic desensitization.

The systematic desensitization proposed by Wolpe, is effective due to its counterconditioning, that is, through this therapy it is intended to create a new association that generates a response opposite (such as the relationship) to the one initially presented (physiological, behavioral and cognitive response of anxiety) to loud sounds and sudden.

However, the exposure therapy It is the most used and the one that has shown greater efficacy for this type of disorder. This is based on Maurer's bifactorial theory and the habituation and extinction models of learning theories. Just as systematic desensitization is effective in generating counterconditioning, exposure therapy is effective in preventing avoidance from becoming a safety signal.

Other treatments for phonophobia

Although these are the classic therapies and those that have shown greater efficacy, we also find other therapies within cognitive-behavioral running that can be complementary to the previous ones or act as a treatment by themselves, What:

• narrative therapy.
• therapy based on processing and desensitization by eye movementsEMDR).

If you think that you could suffer from phonophobia and you notice that this is interfering with your daily life and causing you discomfort, it is It is important that you go to a psychologist who can do the relevant tests and carry out the treatment that best suits you. to your case.

In case you liked this article on Phonophobia: what it is, symptoms, causes and treatment, we recommend you read our post The 15 most common phobias and their definition.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Phonophobia: what is it, symptoms, causes and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• American psychiatric association, (2014). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM – 5. Madrid Spain. Pan American Medical Publishing.
• Belloch, A., Sandin, B., Ramos, F., (2009). Manual of psychopathology, volume II. Madrid. McGraw Hill / Interamericana de España, S.A.U.
• Labrador, f. J., (ed.) (2008). Behavior modification techniques. Madrid. Pyramid