Advances in the understanding and treatment of noise phobias

Fear is a whole body response that may result in behavioral, physiologic, and emotional adaptations that function to protect the animal. Adaptive fear responses occur in the context of threat and are appropriate for the particular response requirements of the fear-provoking situation. Maladaptive fear responses occur out of context or in excess of the demands of the situation. Recent evidence implicates dysregulation of the brain noradrenergic system in the pathophysiology of fear disorders. Noise phobias in dogs meet the criteria of a phobia. Clinical and early laboratory findings suggest there may be inherent individual predispositions in dogs for the development of these disorders. It has been suggested that noise phobic dogs have a auditory sensitivity to particular sounds. Treatment of noise phobias should focus on reducing the response to the phobic sound rather than on the behaviors exhibited during the fear response.