Lygirophobia (fear of loud sounds): symptoms, causes and treatment

An anxiety disorder related to the perception of loud sounds or their anticipation.

Ligirophobia, also known as phonophobia, is the persistent and intense fear of loud or very high-pitched sounds.. It usually occurs in young children, although it is also common in adults who are constantly exposed to such stimuli.

We will see below what is ligirofobia and which are its main symptoms and treatment.

Ligirofobia: fear to the loud sounds

The word "ligirofobia" is composed of the Greek "ligir" which means "sharp" and can be applied to sounds of this type; and the word "fobos", which means "fear". In this sense, ligirophobia is literally the fear of high-pitched sounds. Another name for this fear is "phonophobia", which is derived from "phono" (sound).

Ligirophobia is a phobia of a specific type, since it is characterized by a fear of a specific stimulus (loud sounds or very high-pitched sounds). This fear can occur in the presence of noise, but not necessarily. Also It can also be triggered in a situation where it is anticipated that a loud sound will be presented..

This is common for example in popular parties where firecrackers, firecrackers or balloons are used, or also in people who have prolonged contact with electronic devices that can emit high-pitched sounds. Likewise, it can apply to sounds as well as to different voices or even to one's own voice.

If it is persistent, ligirophobia may not be a fear of psychological origin, but a symptom of hyperacusis.Hyperacusis, which is the decrease in the tolerance of natural sounds caused by affectations in the physiology of the ear.

Main symptoms

Most of the specific phobias generate the activation of the autonomic nervous system, which is in charge of regulating the involuntary movements of our body, for example, visceral movements, breathing, palpitations, among others.

In this sense, in the presence of the stimulus that provokes the phobia, the symptoms that are triggered are mainly hyperventilation, sweating, increased heart rate, decreased Gastrointestinal activity, and, in specific cases, it can generate a feeling of anxiety.and, in specific cases, a panic attack may be triggered.

In general, these responses, which are characteristic of anxiety disordersare functional for our organism, insofar as they allow us to defend ourselves from harmful stimuli. But, in other circumstances, these responses can be unleashed in a non-adaptive manner, in the face of stimuli that do not represent a real harm but a perceived harm.

In order to be considered a phobia, this fear must be considered an irrational fear, i.e., it must be generated by stimuli that do not usually provoke fear, or it must generate a disproportionate anxiety response to the stimulus. The person may or may not be aware that his fear is unjustified, however, this does not help him to reduce it.

Specifically, ligirophobia occurs more frequently in young children. This does not mean that adults are not frightened or alerted by a sudden loud sound, but that the anxiety response may be more intense in young children. Finally, as may occur with other specific phobias, lighirophobia can lead to avoidance behaviors. can lead to avoidance behaviors to social spaces or meetings, which generates an added discomfort.

Some causes

Phobias can be caused by direct negative experiences before the stimulus, but not necessarily. Depending on the severity and frequency of such experiences, the likelihood of a phobia becoming established may change. Other elements that are involved in the consolidation of a phobia are the number of previous safe experiences with the stimulus, and also the infrequency of positive exposure to the stimulus following the negative event.

Likewise, specific phobias are more easily acquired in the face of stimuli that represent a direct threat to the survival of the organism, for example, this is the case of diseases. It may also increase the likelihood of developing intense fear of stimuli when these stimuli generate a direct physiological discomfortThis would be the case of intense sounds in ligirophobia.

The development of specific phobias also involves the expectation of danger that each person has. If this expectation matches the person's experience of the stimulus, there is a greater probability that the phobia will develop.

In the same sense, elements such as the following are involved conditioned learning of fear responsescoping skills, the degree of social support, and the threat information that the person has received in relation to the stimulus.

Treatment

It is important to consider that many of the specific phobias developed in childhood tend to diminish in adolescence and adulthood without the need for treatment. On the other hand, it may happen that a fear that is very present during childhood does not trigger a phobia until adulthood.

If the fear of the stimulus is not only causing discomfort, but is also causing clinically is causing clinically significant discomfort (it prevents the person from carrying out daily activities and generates disproportionate anxiety responses), there are different strategies that can help to modify the approach to the stimulus and reduce the unpleasant response.

Some of the most commonly used are systematic desensitization, relaxation techniques, successive approaches to the stimuli causing the phobia, vicarious exposure or symbolic modeling technique, participant modeling, live exposure, imagery techniques and reprocessing by means of eye movements.

Bibliographical references:

• Bados, A. (2005). Specific phobias. Faculty of Psychology. Department of Personality, Psychological Assessment and Treatment. University of Barcelona. Retrieved September 20. Available at http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/bitstream/2445/360/1/113.pdf
• Ligyrophobia. (2007). Common-phobias.com. Retrieved September 20, 2018. Available at http://common-phobias.com/ligyro/phobia.htm