The world of phobias surprises us once again by the number of stimuli that can trigger an anxiety attack. Is there something that causes you irrational fear? Beyond the more well-known phobic disorders such as arachnophobia or agoraphobia, there are fears towards the most diverse stimuli. This is the case of phonophobia or ligirophobia, which is the fear of sounds. Discover more about this disorder in our dictionary.
What is phonophobia?
Phonophobia is the fear of sounds. It is also called ligirophobia and is generally associated with loud and sudden noises such as alarms, explosions, or the classic firecrackers and rockets that are launched at Christmas and other festivities. Speaking of festivities, the fireworks that are so appreciated by the majority are a real torture for people who suffer from phonophobia.
But loud noises are not the only stimuli that trigger phonophobia or ligirophobia, anxiety attacks can also be reached with other types of more subtle sounds. The sound of a constantly dripping faucet, for example, having the television on as a background sound and suddenly advertising time arrives, or the noise of a teaspoon in the cup stirring the coffee are enough for a person with phonophobia to experience the most intense fear.
At this point we have to ask ourselves, how do you avoid noise? There’s no way, we can’t run away from the sounds that surround us.
What is NOT phonophobia?
Many times phonophobia is confused with hearing problems and it is convenient to clarify the difference. Phobias are part of anxiety, so this fear of sounds is not a hearing disorder. We are thinking, for example, of hyperacusis and misophonia.
Both are hearing disorders and it is true that they can cause some anxiety, but they are not phobias. People with hyperacusis experience the sensation of hearing sounds louder than normal. It is such an annoying feeling that it can sometimes become unbearable, so fear and anticipation anxiety are also common.
For its part, misophonia has a more psychological than organic component, but it is not a phobia either. People with misophonia suffer a high degree of discomfort and anxiety when faced with certain sounds that are not necessarily loud but are repetitive. It is the fact that this problem causes anxiety that often causes it to be confused with phonophobia and also because sometimes the stimuli are the same. Can’t stand the sound of that wall clock in your living room? Sure it’s not a loud noise, but it can get unbearable at times.
Phonophobia symptoms
The most characteristic feature of any phobia is avoidance. When you are afraid of something you try to avoid it by all means. And in the case of phonophobia, we can also add anticipation, that is, that previous anxiety when anticipating the sound that is to come. Because sometimes the noise surprises you, but other times you are expecting it.
You are waiting for it when the twelve bells sound that say goodbye to the old year and receive the New Year. You are waiting for him at your local festivities. But in reality, this anticipation anxiety has the same symptoms as when you don’t expect noise, like when the doorbell rings, for example.
The symptoms are the same in all phobias, dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitations, sweating, tingling in the extremities… and that irrational fear that leads you to suffer an anxiety attack or even a panic disorder. Those are the most common symptoms when you face the feared stimulus, in this case the sound.
But it is that phonophobia also presents symptoms before and after receiving the stimulus, such as obsessive, intrusive and recurring thoughts. The phobia makes you be on permanent alert, with the constant concern that at some point you are going to hear a sound that causes you such unbearable discomfort that everything ends in a crisis.
Causes of phonophobia or fear of loud noises
Perhaps you are wondering about the origin of this fear of noise. Generally, the cause is found in a traumatic experience, in the conditioning by a previous experience related to some loud and sudden sound that caused you great discomfort. It is normal to get scared at a time like this, such as when you hear an explosion in the street, but when this functional fear is excessive and you do not learn to manage it, it is when there is a danger of suffering from a phobic disorder.
There is no way to escape this phonophobia or ligirophobia because there is no way to avoid the appearance of noises that cause attack at all times and in all places. Avoidance then becomes a useless resource that can complicate your life to the point of leading to social isolation. You can’t keep noise emission under control and that need to control will exacerbate anxiety problems.
With this we do not want to be pessimistic, but to warn of the importance of seeking a solution as soon as possible. And the only solution for phobic disorders is to put you into receive psychological therapy. What is the best therapy to overcome a phobia?
How is phonophobia or ligirophobia treated?
The best therapy depends on each patient, but it is true that the most common in cases of phobias is cognitive. In this therapy, which is also the most used in anxiety disorders, they give you the tools you need to work on overcoming that irrational fear. Because the first thing to achieve is that you manage not to listen, but to understand loud sounds or noises from a different perspective.
When cognitive behavioral therapy is already a bit advanced, you have to continue taking steps and looking for strategies to overcome phonophobia. It is then that they recommend gradual, always in the hands of a professional. And yes, exposure therapy is precisely what you are imagining, gradually exposing yourself to the feared stimulus to check the progress, to check that the risk that you thought the noises had is not so great. And so, gradually, count the victories for each of the times you have exposed you to noise and have come out unscathed.
Cognitive behavioral therapy helps you transform your thinking, your preconceived ideas about something, about noise, about its potential danger, about yourself and about the world around you. And the second step of therapy is to change your behavior or the way you react to the emotions that your thoughts provoke. It is a long and difficult road, as you can imagine.
But all phobias can be overcome with effort and proper treatment. Innis not ruled out and in all cases the regular practice of breathing exercises or relaxation techniques is recommended. At first you may think that they have nothing to do with your phobia, but they are the best investment to manage anxiety.