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

Ligirophobia, also called phonophobia, is persistent and intense fear of loud or 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 ligirophobia is and what are its main symptoms and treatment.

• Related article: "Types of Phobias: Exploring Fear Disorders"

Ligyrophobia: fear of loud sounds

The word "ligirofobia" is composed of the Greek "ligir" which means "acute" and can be applied to sounds of this type; and the word “phobos”, which means “fear”. In this sense, ligirophobia is literally the fear of high-pitched sounds. Another name by which this fear is known 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 may be triggered in a situation where a loud sound is anticipated to occur.

This is common, for example, in popular festivals where firecrackers, rockets or balloons are used, or also in people who have prolonged contact with electronic devices that can emit sounds treble. Likewise, it can be applied both to sounds and to different voices or even to one's own voice.

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

• You may be interested in: "Hyperacusis: definition, causes, symptoms and treatments"

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 causes the phobia, the symptoms that are triggered are mainly hyperventilation, sweating, increased heart rate, decreased gastrointestinal activity, and in specific cases a panic attack can be generated.

In general, these answers, which are characteristics of anxiety pictures, are functional for our body, insofar as they allow us to defend ourselves from harmful stimuli. But, in other circumstances, these responses can be triggered in a non-adaptive way, before stimuli that do not represent real damage but rather perceived damage.

In order to be considered a phobia, this fear must be considered an irrational fear, that is, it must be generated before stimuli that generally do not cause fear, or else, must generate a disproportionate anxiety response to the stimulus. The person may or may not be aware that her fear is unjustified, however, this does not help to reduce it.

Specifically, ligirophobia occurs more frequently in young children. This does not mean that adults are not afraid or alert to hear a loud sound that comes on suddenly, but the anxiety response may be more intense in children little ones. Finally, as can occur with other specific phobias, ligirophobia can lead to avoidance behaviors to spaces or social gatherings, which generates added discomfort.

some causes

Phobias can be caused by direct negative experiences with the stimulus, but not necessarily. Depending on the severity and frequency of these experiences, the likelihood of a phobia taking hold may change. Other elements that are involved in the consolidation of a phobia are the number of safe experiences prior to the stimulus, and also the infrequency of positive exposure to the stimulus, after the event negative.

Likewise, specific phobias are more easily acquired when faced with the stimuli they represent. a direct threat to the survival of the organism, for example, this is the case of diseases. It can also increase the likelihood of developing an intense fear of stimuli. when they generate a direct physiological discomfort, which would be the case of intense sounds in ligirophobia.

In the development of specific phobias, the expectation of danger that each person has is also involved. 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 conditioned learning of fear responses, coping 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 that develop in childhood tend to subside in adolescence and adulthood without the need for treatment. On the other hand, it may happen that a very present fear during childhood does not trigger a phobia until adulthood.

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

Some of the most used are systematic desensitization, relaxation techniques, successive approaches to the stimuli that cause the phobia, the technique of vicarious exposure or symbolic modeling, the participant model, live exposure, imagination techniques and reprocessing through movements eyepieces

Bibliographic references:

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