What to do if a child is afraid of sounds

The entrance door slammed, the perforator behind the wall rattled heart-rendingly - the baby's pupils instantly dilated and he began to cry - the child was afraid of sounds. What if there's a thunderstorm? Thunder is simply terrifying! Sometimes even simple everyday sounds - the loud rustling of plastic bags, the sound washing machine, vacuum cleaner - cause fear in the baby. He screams, cries, calls his mother. What to do if a child is afraid of various sounds and his reaction is quite acute?

Is a child afraid of sounds - normal or pathological?

In infancy, babies react less to extraneous sounds: the baby mostly sleeps, and his sleep is quite sound. As the baby grows up, he sleeps less and less, his nervous system develops, and his reaction to various stimuli becomes more acute.

In general, fear in children is a normal phenomenon, because the child still does not know much. The unknown makes him anxious and afraid. Particular attention should be paid to the problem if the child has already grown up (2-3 years or more), but the fear of sounds remains.

System-vector psychology will help you understand the fear of sounds in children.

Who is afraid of sounds and why?

Every child is born with his own natural properties. There are children who do not react painfully to loud sounds, but there are kids who are afraid of even minor rustles and sounds.

But first of all, children are afraid of sounds if their mothers themselves are in anxious and generally negative states, stress, anxiety or depression. The child feels the mother’s condition on an animal level, because she ensures his survival: both physically and psychologically. Only a mother in good condition can give the child a feeling of security and safety, otherwise the baby feels danger everywhere.

Children with a visual vector are especially susceptible to any danger. They are the ones who can react most acutely to noise and loud sounds. But to disturbing and quiet sounds - sounds that do not seem unusual to another person (dishes while cooking, a creaking door) - children react with a sound vector. But they are more likely not afraid, but rather tense or, conversely, listen carefully. After all, they naturally have the most sensitive eardrum, reacting to the slightest vibrations.

What to do to make the fear of sounds disappear

Sound ecology in the house from the very first days is the key to the normal development and growth of sound children. They need to listen to the reality around them, and not torture their hearing aid with loud and unpleasant sounds.

If you do not pay attention to their reaction and create a loud atmosphere around the baby, then they may experience developmental delays. After all, rumble and noise are a source of stress. And with constant stress, the baby absolutely cannot develop normally.

It is optimal for such kids to turn on quiet classical music and talk to them in a quiet voice. Do not shout!

I'm scared, scared, scared! And sounds too!

Fear of sounds in children with a visual vector is a matter of fear in general. The fact is that their root reaction, given by nature, is fear. When these children grow up, most often you can hear the phrase from them - “I’m afraid, I’m scared.” Children's fears manifest themselves in the most different types: darkness, unfamiliar, gloomy people, and also a fear of sounds. Such babies react sharply to the sounds of thunder, sharp, sudden sounds, as well as the sound of a vacuum cleaner or washing machine. They shudder, scream, then sleep poorly (nervous overexcitation) - they feel frightened.

If your baby is afraid of sounds, you need to react to it correctly. And also children are strictly forbidden:

Make fun of you for being scared (what are you, you coward!);

Try to “accustom” to loud sounds (constantly turning on the vacuum cleaner in the presence of a child, etc.).

It will not be possible to accustom a child with a sound vector to loud sounds; his hearing is very sensitive by nature. In this way, you can get to the point that the child simply withdraws into himself, “withdrawing” from the loudness of the surrounding reality “into himself.”

If you make fun of a child, he will not stop being afraid, but it’s easy to get a couple of serious anchors (I’m a coward, I’m bad because I’m afraid of sounds, etc.).

If a child with a visual vector is frightened, then developmental delay is guaranteed. A fragile nervous system is not able to cope with constant stress, and this inhibits psychosexual development. Over time, instead of simple fear, phobias and panic attacks may arise (in adulthood).

So, so that the baby does not have a fear of sounds:

The child should feel completely safe (the mother conveys a basic sense of security and safety to the baby - this is the key to his normal development);

The atmosphere around the child should be quiet, calm, peaceful;

The baby needs to be developed according to the properties given to him by nature: the wild imagination of visual children needs to be directed into creativity and play, children with a sound vector should be allowed to listen to classical music, talk about space, the world order).

To better understand the reasons for the appearance of fears in children, and also to know what to do with them, you need to understand the characteristics of the child and his psyche. The full study of the psyche takes place at Yuri Burlan’s training “System-vector psychology”.

"…A week has passed. The son sleeps without light and without fear. Today we watched a movie about the dog Hachiko - about true friendship and loyalty. They cried in four streams. But how easy it became in my soul later! This is the filling of the visual vector, which helps to get rid of fears and even phobias...”

There are not many frightening sounds in nature, and, as a rule, they are short-lived. Civilization has added a whole host of similar delights to the peals of thunder and barking dogs: too loud music, the noise of household appliances, a shrill bell, a slamming door, a sharp grinding of brakes, and so on. However, if adults understand the cause of the noise, know how to control their fears and live with them, then children begin to be afraid, because they are often defenseless in the face of unknown and frightening things.

Why is a child afraid of loud sounds and unpleasant buzzing?

Every children's fear It manifests itself most often at a certain age and is caused by characteristic reasons.

Natural reaction of the psyche to noise

A newborn baby, as a rule, sleeps soundly day and night: his sleep is not disturbed by loud sounds, speech, or background noise. But already from the second month of life the situation begins to change. The baby shudders and cries from a telephone ringing, the hum of a working vacuum cleaner and other household appliances, loud conversation and laughter of adults, the singing of a tape recorder or a wind-up toy. The reaction can even reach the point of hysteria, but parents often do not know what to do.

In fact, the reason for such fear is not errors in upbringing or oversight on the part of adults. This is a completely normal reaction of the developing psyche: a baby associates a loud sound with danger (the baby experiences a similar feeling in the presence of strangers or when he is afraid of being left without his mother). In addition, prolonged noise causes discomfort in the hearing organs.

Fear loud sounds- a natural innate reaction of the body.

This behavior, which is a natural manifestation of the instinct of self-preservation, lasts relatively short time - up to 12–18 months. Sometimes loud noises are scarykids up three years: As a rule, these are overly sensitive, vulnerable and anxious children. Of course, adults should treat them with respect. special attention and sensitivity.

If, after three years, phonophobia does not go away, and even more so is accompanied by additional fears (the child is constantly anxious, avoids communicating with people), then parents need to seek help from a specialist in order to avoid serious problems with the nervous system in the future.

Why loud noise is harmful to a child

Prolonged loud noises are not safe for children. They cause overstrain of brain cells, which become unable to fully coordinate the body’s work. This leads to disruption in the functioning of various organs, in particular the liver and heart. In addition, the ears gradually lose sensitivity from sharp sounds and unpleasant hums. The child develops a persistent feeling of anxiety, he is prone to fear, and almost does not smile. These babies tend to sleep poorly and get tired quickly because it is difficult for them to completely relax their muscles.

Acquired life experience as a cause of fear

The fear of loud sounds, inherent in the baby by nature itself, may be aggravated over time by additional reasons.

1. Behavior of parents and relatives. An overly emotional reaction of loved ones (most often mothers or grandmothers) to actions little explorer, loud shouts like “Don’t touch!”, “Don’t go there!” can provoke stress in a child and heighten the sense of danger.
2. An unexpectedly heard sharp bang or explosion, for which the baby’s psyche was not prepared. Some people happily forget about their experiences, while others develop a persistent fear.
3. Some household appliances make very unpleasant loud sounds: the shrill ringing of an alarm clock, the hum of a vacuum cleaner, or an electric meat grinder. Cooking and cleaning in the presence of the baby often causes his negative reaction.
4. Seen an episode from a horror movie (by accident or due to the careless behavior of parents viewing such content in the presence of their offspring). This kind of video is aimed at tickling the viewer's nerves. And a characteristic feature of horror films is a piercing scream or other sharp sound at the most unexpected moment. Few children will accept what they hear calmly; most will bad dream next night, and someone will develop phonophobia. By the way, the cause of fear can also be a disaster scene accompanied by a roar.
5. Bad inflation experience balloon- it burst with a deafening sound (or the child witnessed such an incident). This fear even has its own name - globophobia.
6. The thundering sounds of fireworks during a celebration in the city square. Children who are too young should not be taken to such events.
7. Children's fear can be caused by the noise of a working drill, hammer drill or other repair attribute.
8. Aggressive sounding toys. Parents should be careful when choosing toys for their baby, because the modern industry is ready to attract buyers in various ways, and this is not only bright color products.
9. Storm. Deafening thunder is a real stressor for some children.

Vacuum cleaner and other household appliances, thunderstorms, fireworks and other common objects of fear - photo gallery

The loud hum of a working vacuum cleaner scares a child Children, like adults, are often terrified of thunder during a thunderstorm. Many interactive toys can make loud, high-pitched noises. Often the fear of loud noises provokes a bursting balloon Many kids are afraid of the loud sounds that accompany fireworks at the holiday. Scary scenes on TV, accompanied by heart-rending screams, are deposited in children's memory for a long time, causing fears

Fear of loud noises and voices in children with brain damage and other diseases

Sometimes an excessive fear of loud sounds in a child can be triggered by certain diseases:

• ear pathologies (otitis);
• injuries and structural features of the hearing organ;
• past infections (flu, meningitis, etc.);
• increased fatigue syndrome.

Fear is often observed in children who have organic brain damage. Phonophobia is often accompanied by headaches, nervousness, and surges in intracranial pressure. The baby is constantly excited, periodically he has attacks of causeless fear. This pathology is mild to moderate and amenable to treatment, which is designed to improve cerebral circulation, resulting in only minor changes remaining. Additionally, the patient is prescribed sedatives to reduce excitability.

Ways to overcome your problem: how to help your child become bolder

If the baby is afraid of loud sounds, then adults should show him increased attention and all your sensitivity.

Tactics of behavior towards a baby and a one-year-old child

The characteristic reactions to sudden noises in a small child (up to one year old) are not a reason for unnecessary worry. If anxiety and crying occur, parents can resort to the following measures:

If all of these measures do not have a noticeable effect, then it is worth contacting a pediatric neurologist in a timely manner: perhaps he will recommend sedatives, for example, baths with medicinal herbs.

How to help an older child

If an older child (after two years) is afraid of loud sounds, then parents should, first of all, analyze the origins of such a reaction and remember what originally caused it. For example, a child was frightened by a dog in the yard that unexpectedly barked loudly, or saw a scary movie with heart-rending screams. You should discuss this moment with the baby and explain that there is no need to be afraid of it.

Adults need to take a closer look at themselves. Perhaps a son or daughter becomes frightened when the mother speaks in a raised voice. Sometimes parents themselves provoke anxiety in their children by warning them too emotionally about danger. Various prohibitions should be kept to a minimum, leaving only the most necessary: ​​do not play with fire, do not put your fingers in a socket, do not open the door to strangers, do not eat with unwashed hands, etc. The baby should not have fear of the outside world, it is important that he gained my own sensory experience and expanded my horizons.

Children's fears should always be treated with understanding. If something frightens your child (for example, glass rattling from thunder), hug him and calm him down. The baby should feel the closeness of mom and dad, their readiness to protect him at any moment. This will help the fear not turn into an obsessive fear.

The atmosphere in the house is the most important thing. If parents are always there and love each other, the baby will trust them infinitely and will more easily adapt to the manifestations of the world around them.

Play, fairy tale and art therapy in the fight against childhood fear

Play often helps distract children from fear and even completely overcome it (play therapy is a popular psychological method of therapeutic influence on the psyche).

1. Invite your child to imagine himself as an animal roaring loudly in the forest. At the same time, the baby must perform characteristic movements, feel his energy, and then a sharp sound from the outside will no longer cause so many negative feelings.
2. Organize noisy games - clap your hands loudly with your son or daughter, let them knock with metal spoons, pots, and rattles. Gradually, the child’s reaction to an unexpected sound stimulus will become calmer.
3. If your child is afraid of the noise of a working drill, then play out this situation. Let the baby be a worker, and dad be a little sleeping boy who woke up and was scared by a loud sound. The guy with the drill will apologize, explain that he needs to hang a shelf or a picture, and ask the kid to help him. Then you should switch roles.
   Another solution to the problem is to first give the child a real hammer (of course, under strict parental supervision), teach him how to hammer nails, and then offer to work with a drill (but without a drill). Full of work enthusiasm, the little builder will quickly get used to the noise, because he himself will make the loud sounds.
4. Play store with your son or daughter, but in a special way. There you can buy toys and candy for your fears. Thus, the suggestion occurs that the fear is gone and cannot be returned.

Whatever the results of the game, at the end the child must be praised, emphasizing the moment where he showed himself best.

A wonderful method of dealing with fears is art therapy: drawing will help throw out negative emotions. Since fear will turn into something material, it can be destroyed - torn, burned or locked in a closet.

Fairytale therapy helps many children. Parents and their offspring come up with a little funny story about how little hero fears something, and then successfully overcomes his fear. Alternatively, you can compose a song or a magic spell to protect the child. Good idea- come up with a fabulous assistant, tell about him and his wonderful abilities (for example, soft and beautiful headphones that actually reduce the volume of sounds).

Video: how to help your child overcome the fear of loud noises

What not to do

Often, the child’s parents make unforgivable mistakes, which force him to withdraw into his worries and aggravate his fear.

1. Under no circumstances should you laugh at the baby’s reaction or shame him, because this is not a manifestation of cowardice, but a feature of his worldview. To avoid ridicule, the baby will hide his fear, but it will not go away.
2. If a child cannot overcome fear, then mom and dad should not give up: probably, the son or daughter just needs a little more time to do this.
3. You should not protect your child from loud sounds in every possible way, or limit his movements and social circle: a lack of life experience will not get rid of the problem.
4. You cannot allow fear to become fixed by focusing your attention on it. On the contrary, you need to treat fear without external concern, try to distract the little one with games, walks, and new discoveries.
5. It’s a huge mistake to try to solve a problem using the “wedge with wedge” method, for example, forcing a child who is afraid of loud sounds to children's party or a performance, go to such an event. This will only intensify the fear; the baby may withdraw into himself and not want to communicate with anyone at all.

Doctor Komarovsky's view on the problem of fear of loud noises in children

According to pediatrician E. Komarovsky, the real reason for a child’s fear of loud sounds is the lack of a sense of security. If a child hears, for example, snoring behind the wall, then his imagination draws him an image of a scary uncle who wants to take him away. The correct behavior of parents in such a situation would be to explain to their child where the noise comes from. It is also important here that the baby understands that mom and dad will never hurt him.

Advice from psychologist Natalya Barlozhetskaya on how to stop being afraid of loud sounds - video

During its development, the child's psyche goes through certain stages, one of which is the fear of loud sounds. This problem is usually encountered by overly sensitive and anxious children. If this fear is not complicated by anxiety and reluctance to communicate with people, then with the sensitive attitude of the parents it will gradually go away. But if there is a growing feeling of panic, you should definitely show the baby to specialists who will select effective correction methods.

Children's fears are an important component of a child's development precisely because by overcoming them, the child grows up and his nervous system becomes stronger. However, for parents, the appearance of certain phobias in a baby, in particular if the baby is afraid of loud sounds, raises a lot of questions, the essence of which boils down to the following: is everything okay with the baby? Let's look at the reasons and methods of dealing with the fear of loud noises in children of different ages.

Healthy, normally developing newborn children calmly tolerate any noise, do not get nervous and do not even wake up if those around them make noise without limiting themselves. But from 2–4 months, babies may develop a fear of sharp sounds, such as:

• phone calls;
• loud laughter or coughing, snoring of the father;
• the buzzing of a coffee grinder, drill;
• singing of a wind-up toy;
• dog's bark;
• playing guitar;
• the sound of a vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, etc.

These manifestations should not cause concern to parents: up to 1–2 years of age, almost all fears are inherent in children by nature. proper development nervous system of the baby. This reaction is checked by the Moro reflex - it is also called the startle reflex. In response to an external stimulus, the baby throws up his arms and seems to be trying to grab onto something. The Moro reflex appears immediately after birth and is an important indicator of the development of the child’s nervous system; it fades away by 4–5 months of life.

The newborn moves his arms to the sides and opens his fists - phase I of the Moro reflex

This is interesting. Natural fears also include the fear of being left without a mother, the fear of strangers, and the dark. But they should be distinguished from acquired phobias, which arose as a reaction to a specific situation: for example, fear of water after an unsuccessful dive while swimming.

If by the age of 3 the fear of loud and sudden sounds has not passed, then this may indicate that your child’s nervous system is too sensitive. And in this case, you need to consult a pediatrician or neurologist. Or the fear has become acquired due to the fact that parents do not help correct the situation, but, on the contrary, only aggravate it with reprimands, ridicule, shouting and excessive emotionality. Yes, the cry “Don’t go there - you’ll fall!” will be effective at that second, but it’s not a fact that the child won’t go there again - this is the case, and the second is such a reaction loved one will definitely cause stress, inhibiting any fight against fears. Often the described fear develops on the basis of negative memories: the baby heard his parents talking in a raised voice, and now any change in voice towards shouting is perceived as a threat to calm and safety.

Sometimes even speaking in a raised voice can make fear worsen

This is interesting. The fear of loud, sharp sounds and devices that make them is called ligyrophobia.

What to do if your baby is scared

If a little coward flinches at the slightest rustle, mom and dad should understand that at this stage of development the baby perceives this way the world, this too shall pass. It is much more dangerous if parents punish or respond sharply to the manifestation of such a reaction in the baby: the baby may begin to hide his fear, but this will not go away; on the contrary, it will only intensify.

This is interesting. Too much noise around causes the child’s hearing system to lose sensitivity, the heart begins to malfunction, and the brain cells become overstrained. As a result, anxiety arises, children smile less and less, cannot completely relax, get tired quickly and sleep poorly.

Tactile contact with mother is very important to calm the child

How to help a baby under one year old: using voice and tape recorder

Take a comprehensive approach to solving the problem. To do this you need:

• Talk to your child as much as possible using one calm intonation. It is very useful if, from infancy, the baby hears male voices, which will help him get used to the unusual tone of sound.
• Periodically play beautiful and melodic music for your child (preferably classics, for example, Mozart, Beethoven, etc.). By the way, such support will help cope with other types of fear, for example, fear of water at an early stage of development.
• Calming, quietly hum songs.
• Do not under any circumstances create ideal conditions for sleep, that is, turn off all devices and “walk on air” yourself. This way you will protect your baby from waking up in the event of a sharp sound, for example, the creaking of a door opening or a doorbell ringing. So say yes to having the TV on at a low volume or having a quiet conversation.

How to help a child from 1 to 3 years old: accustoming him to music and household appliances

In addition to the techniques described above, there are several more ways to correct the situation:

Parents should treat their little cowards with understanding and patience: not shout, but calm and encourage

This is interesting. If a child is constantly afraid of strong noises, reacts too emotionally to them, even to the point of hysteria, has difficulty calming down, and is choked by fear, then the baby must be shown to a neurologist to identify disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system and choose adequate treatment.

Komarovsky's opinion: show the household appliance - the source of noise

Evgeny Olegovich Komarovsky, an experienced pediatrician, author of books on raising children, believes that the most The best way get rid of ok developing baby for fear of loud noise - show the source of this noise. This is the only way to restore the child’s sense of security, which he, in his opinion, may lose as a result of such strong noises.

To dispel children's fear, be sure to show them the source of the noise so that it is clear that it is “an everyday matter.”

In fact, the reason for such fears is the lack of a sense of security. That uncle - oh, horror! - will take the child, and the parents - Oh, horror, horror! - they will give it to this uncle. You’ll have to make the joke true: go to your neighbors’ house and see who’s knocking there. That this is an uncle, that he really works, that he knocks with this thing. And the main thing is that he doesn’t need your child, and you won’t let anyone offend your baby.

Encyclopedia practical psychology"Psychologist"

Fear of loud noise in children with organic brain lesions

Organic brain lesions are a group of diseases in which structural pathological changes occur in brain tissue. Neurologists prove that such a diagnosis can be made in 9 out of 10 patients of different ages. But if changes in tissues affect more than 20–50% of the brain, then symptoms of a particular disease or tumor begin to appear. In children, organic lesions are associated with perinatal brain damage. These include maternal diseases, including various infections, genetic pathology, hypoxia or ischemia during childbirth, radiation exposure, etc. With complications, these disorders can develop into cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, mental retardation and epilepsy. In children with such diagnoses, fear of loud sounds is one of the characteristic symptoms.

Fear of loud noises is a characteristic symptom of autism

To provide assistance, it is necessary to strictly follow the specialist’s recommendations regarding therapy, including physiotherapy, and also use the techniques recommended by psychologists to help the child overcome ligyrophobia. However, remember that in children with developmental disabilities, the use of any behavior correction methods must be agreed upon with the doctor observing the child.

Fear of loud sounds is a natural manifestation of the development of the nervous system of a healthy child under 3 years of age. The task of parents is to find the right approach to calm the baby, to return him to a sense of confidence in safety, which only mom and dad can fully guarantee. So don't panic if your little coward is startled by a vibrating phone or the hum of a vacuum cleaner. Just patiently help your little one through this stage of growing up.