Sound sensitivities in the “quiet” environment: Implications and strategies for management

[...]we build upon suggestions provided in the focal article, sharing our recommendations for organizations to mitigate the effects of sound sensitivities on their workforces, including actions some forward-thinking organizations are already taking in related realms. [...]phonophobia literally means fear of sound; in the auditory profession, it refers to a fear that sound(s) will occur that cause pain, discomfort, or anxiety. [...]it shows that certain types and categories of sounds are associated with certain emotional reactions (e.g., oral/nasal sounds often evoke anger). List of Sound Triggers, Ranked by Respondents’ Reaction Intensity and by Percent of Respondents Selecting Each Emotional Reaction (Based on Vitoratou et al., 2021) Trigger sounds Source Rank Irritation (%) Distress (%) Disgust (%) Anger (%) Panic (%) Loud chewing Oral/nasal 1 4 9 18 43 23 Chewing gum Oral/nasal 2 10 6 16 43 22 Slurping Oral/nasal 3 17 7 29 34 10 Crunching Oral/nasal 3 20 12 10 34 15 Normal eating sounds Oral/nasal 5 25 15 18 30 7 Lip smacking Oral/nasal 5 19 10 19 36 9 Blocked nose Oral/nasal 7 28 12 16 28 9 Repetitive sniffing Oral/nasal 7 28 10 14 32 9 Snoring Oral/nasal 9 32 13 3 28 9 Cutlery 10 30 22 6 20 9 Mushy foods 11 22 11 23 21 5 Teeth sucking Oral/nasal 12 28 6 27 16 5 Tapping 13 42 12 1 25 7 Repetitive coughing Oral/nasal 14 39 11 11 21 4 Muffled sounds 15 34 14 1 20 7 Throat clearing Oral/nasal 16 37 8 16 16 3 Swallowing Oral/nasal 17 28 9 23 14 2 Repetitive barking 18 44 9 1 19 4 Whistling sound Oral/nasal 19 34 10 2 16 6 Sound of clipping nails 20 29 9 11 13 4 Keyboard tapping 21 39 10 1 15 3 Rustling plastic/paper 21 36 10 2 15 5 Mobile phone 23 41 7 2 14 2 Baby crying 24 34 16 1 7 6 Normal breathing Oral/nasal 25 34 9 4 7 2 Clock ticking 26 36 10 0 5 3 Joint cracking 27 29 8 10 6 1 Kissing Oral/nasal 28 21 4 21 3 2 Repetitive engine 28 29 9 11 3 Certain letter sounds 30 24 6 4 8 2 Yawning Oral/nasal 31 27 4 5 4 0 Humming Oral/nasal 31 29 6 0 4 2 Sneezing Oral/nasal 31 24 4 7 4 2 Hiccups Oral/nasal 34 35 5 2 1 Certain accents 35 26 3 3 3 1 Certain words 35 25 5 4 4 1 Footsteps 35 23 5 1 4 4 Legal and inclusivity considerations Given the prevalence and potential impact of sound sensitivities, we seek to understand the implications of these conditions in the workplace, drawing on perspectives related to law and inclusivity. Like other invisible identities (e.g., sexual orientation, mental illness), people with sound sensitivities would have to disclose the