Phonophobia (fear of certain sounds): symptoms, causes and treatment

Phonophobia is a type of phobia in which certain noises cause anxiety attacks. Let's see what it is like.

When it comes to phobias, we must bear in mind that all of them represent an irrational fear of certain stimuli. Phonophobia is the irrational fear of certain specific sounds..

In this article we will see which are the symptoms, the causes and the treatments in the cases of phonophobia, as well as other related pathologies.

What is phonophobia?

As we have seen, the fonofobia is the type of phobia based on certain sounds. These sounds do not necessarily have to be loud. It is enough for the person to hear them to produce a disproportionate reaction of displeasure in the subject with this mental disorder.

The sound of the cutlery, the slurping of coffee or soup, the dripping of some liquid, are noises that for the patient with this disorder can be particularly unpleasant and even intolerable.

Symptoms

The symptoms of phonophobia are subjective, i.e. they depend only on the sensations of the individual patient. During the interview, the therapist will become aware of the extent to which the patient's phonophobia is intense. to what extent his or her disturbance is intense. Then, applying the necessary tests, a diagnostic impression is obtained.

Some of the most common symptoms in phonophobia are the following:

• Sensation of dislike to specific sounds.
• Irrational anger to specific sounds.
• Irritability to specific sounds..
• Anxiety.
• Headache.
• Stress.
• Tachycardia
• Increased sweating, especially in hands.
• Avoidance of noisy and crowded places.

It often happens that these symptoms persist even after the person has moved away from the sound that presents the discomfort, because the memory of such noise remains in the subject's memory for some minutes..

Causes

To this day, there is still no certain explanation as to why some subjects present this disorder. It is related to a hypersensitivity in the auditory pathways.However, the complexity of the matter lies in the fact that the sounds that provoke the discomfort are associated with negative emotions.

A negative experience that the person has had in the past (trauma) could generate the phonophobia; by associating a specific sound with the traumatic event in the past, the discomfort occurs.. In this case the primary pathology would be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which would be causing the symptoms of phonophobia as a background disease (comorbidity). However, this is not always the case. There are cases where phonophobia is not associated with any known trauma and the relationship of sound with negative emotions is irrational.

Differential diagnosis

There are more disorders that are associated with this pathology, of which it is important to have knowledge to be able to distinguish correctly when it is each one of them. Hypercusis and misophonia are two disorders that are very similar to phonophobia. Let us see their differences.

In cases of hyperacusis, there is a pattern of fear towards loud noises. People with hyperacusis live with a high level of anxiety because they are constantly avoiding situations where loud noises are present. they are constantly avoiding situations where sounds can be loud and sudden..

For example, a patient with hyperacusis, before turning on the radio, would make sure to lower the volume to a minimum, and then gradually increase it to avoid sudden exposure to noise.

This mental alteration may have organic causes, such as, for example, some alteration in ear structures that affect the way the person perceives sounds. It is important to rule out this possibility by referring the patient to an otolaryngologist..

In the case of misophonia, what happens is that the subject experiences discomfort with noises that are not necessarily loud. As with phonophobia, the anxiety can come from a trivial sound, regardless of its volume.

The difference between misophonia and phonophobia is the intensity at which the sound irritates the person. In cases of phonophobia the patient is almost unable to tolerate the annoying sound.The phonophobia and misophonia disorders do not present organic alterations in the patients, they are purely psychological in origin.

Phonophobia and misophonia disorders do not present organic alterations in patients, they are of purely psychological origin.

Treatment: effective therapies

Sometimes, phonophobia as a mental alteration is not taken seriously; they tend to downplay its importance because it is not part of the common diseases with well-known causes. But the reality is that significantly affects the quality of life of those who suffer from it..

Now we will see which are the most commonly used therapies that have been shown to be significantly effective in the case of this type of phobias.

1. Cognitive-behavioral therapy

This method consists of conversational therapy sessions, where the therapist confronts the patient's irrational thoughts through a process of maieutics, causing the negative feelings to cease to be associated with the sound that generates discomfort. It is also complemented with behavioral techniques such as systematic desensitization.

2. Group exposure therapy

In this therapy the patient is gradually subjected to the exposure to soundsaccompanied by other subjects who present the same situation. This method seeks to make the discomfort response disappear.

Once the subjects understand that the sound does not represent a real danger to their person, the stress level should decrease.

3. Relaxation techniques

Relational techniques are diverse and include breathing exercises, guided visualization, and progressive Muscle relaxation. These techniques help patients to control their emotions, especially those that are negative and related to sounds.

Relaxation techniques can be implemented in conjunction with any of the above therapies.

Bibliographical references:

• Cavallo, V. (1998). International Handbook of Cognitive and Behavioural Treatments for Psychological Disorders. Pergamon.
• LeBeau R.T., Glenn D., Liao B., Wittchen H.U., Beesdo-Baum K., Ollendick T., Craske M.G. (2010). "Specific phobia: a review of DSM-IV specific phobia and preliminary recommendations for DSM-V". Depress Anxiety. 27 (2): 148-67.