Phonophobia

Although phonophobia can arise as a secondary consequence of other sound tolerance conditions, this does not make it synonymous with them. One other sound tolerance condition that can sometimes be observed alongside phonophobia is hyperacusis, or discomfort or even pain caused by sounds that most people would not consider uncomfortably loud. although other authors regard hyperacusis and phonophobia as distinct conditions, However, other sources regard the specific phobia and anticipatory fears and avoidance of phonophobia as being distinct from the emotional reactions characteristic of misophonia. Moreover, phonophobia may co-occur with tinnitus (perception of sounds, especially ringing sounds, without an external source) or with generic noise sensitivity (sensory processing sensitivity towards sounds). ==Management==

To ensure that treatments and supports are directed appropriately, it is important to distinguish phonophobic fears from other sound tolerance conditions. but could be considered to involve unacceptable risk if a patient were at significantly elevated likelihood of experiencing harm compared to other people who can engage in a given activity without incident. As such, while there are specialised therapies for sound tolerance conditions like misophonia and hyperacusis that can involve exposure, suggesting that exposure therapy – or at least more conventional forms of exposure therapy – may be more appropriate for pure phonophobia without other sound tolerance conditions. Providing information and counselling regarding the benign nature of sounds eliciting phonophobic reactions is also recommended as a phonophobia treatment. ==Terminology and origins of the concept==

The term phonophobia comes from Greek φωνή - phōnē, "voice" or "sound" and φόβος - phobos, "fear". When the word phonophobia was first introduced in 1949, it was as a synonym for hyperacusis, due to concern that the term hyperacusis might imply the presence of increased hearing acuity. As a result, the word phonophobia has been used in neurology to refer to sound intolerance observed in people who experience migraine headaches, especially during migraines, which is very distinct from the modern understanding of phonophobia. implying that the type of sound intolerance described would indeed be hyperacusis and not phonophobia. They viewed phonophobia as a type of misophonia, emotional reactions to specific sounds. Subsequently, phonophobia has generally been recognised as a distinct and separate condition from misophonia. ==See also==