fear of noise

[jacky711]

my 4 yr old son has always displayed sensitivity to loud noises. as a baby he would cry on hearing  a loud sneeze. as a 2 yr old he would never run on a playground and get on a slide unless either of his parents were right next to him. at 2.5 yrs he would be unable to seperate from parent to participate in age appropriate classes. he'd cover his ears and cry when children shout.
he had been home until he was 3 and started preschool at 3. he loves his school. but now at the age of 4 he still complains of noise fears. so much that he is unable to part and has separation anxiety anywhere at any social gathering, or kids birthday parties etc. we had his ears tested out and they seem to be normal.
now at 4 he also says that for example he will not enter  a moon bounce if there are other kids in it and  when asked why he said because they are so loud.

how do i figure out what noises scare my son ? and what treatment i can get him. his test with the audiologist  showed no sensitivity to up to 80db..(as compared to a normal convesations which is at 55 db)

[pencilhead33]

maybe your sons hearing is different in a two person one on one environment rather than kids screaming everywhere, maybe he didnt show sensitivity in the hearing test because it was already a quiet environment and his anxiety was low at that point, he wasnt afraid or on edge when tested. but put those on him in a loud environment and he would most likely have a different reaction to even the slightest noise.

[AnnieBrooke]

How is he on vacuum cleaners and hair dryers?  Some kids say it's the noise when really it's the stress.  If he thinks it is the noise, you could put him into those soft foam ear plugs when he goes to something like a moon bounce, to see if that works for him.  You might find that the issue is more stress related than noise related, and then you can work on it from that angle.