Phobia. That word comes from the Greek word "Phobos" which means irrational fear. Many People have them. You have this irrational fear and then have this healthy, normal fear that most people would identify easily with such as the healthy fear for height.
Check out the list of phobias.
I'm sure there are many more kinds of phobias out there that haven't been cataloged or documented. But one phobia I'm thinking among deaf people is the irrational fear of hearing people.
Does such a phobia exist?
What I've learned in life is that one cannot simply discount anything that may sound ridiculous out of hand and discard it as hogwash when it comes to the human mind. If you look at the list of phobias in link I provided you can see the many strange phobias enough to wonder whether those phobias actually exist. Well, the human brain is a strange place and when there's fear that strikes deep and hard into the brain it'll manifest itself as a phobia in whatever form for whatever reason.
Now, I am wondering.
Is there such a thing among the deaf population the fear of hearing people? Being around hearing people? Meeting them? Are there deaf people who take pains to avoid hearing people at all cost? Do they get panicky around hearing people? Do their palms get sweaty? Extreme nervousness or the feeling of extreme dread? The feeling of aversion? Do they panic at the mere thought of meeting a hearing person or group of hearing people? The reason for the irrational fear of hearing people could be many. Perhaps the underlying fear has to do with communication and language. There could be more to that as well.
I'm betting that there is such a thing where some deaf people have an irrational fear of hearing people since the human brain is a strange place where fear manifest itself over time. And so I decided to come up with a phobia name for deaf people's irrational fear of hearing people, should it even exist. The key is finding the right suffix word and then simply add the root word "phobia" to it.
Here it is.
Anthroacoutophobia - fear of hearing people.
In other words, a deaf person's fear of hearing people.
The word "anthro" is Greek for people or the human race itself while "acouto" is a Greek word for "hearing, listening, of or for hearing."
Here's my question. If you're deaf, do you have anthroacoutophobia? Fear of hearing people?
Most likely not.
But for what's worth I believe there is a phobia of a hearing person's fear of deaf people.
9 comments:
works for me! after all, if some people can make up words like "deaffood" and "awdism," then you can certainly make up a word that means "fear of hearing people." or maybe misanthroaudiophobia? dislike, as opposed to fear, of hearing people.
I have a good friend who has quite a bit of hearing and pretty good speech, but avoids looking at or interacting with hearing people at all costs. I don't think he's afraid, per se, but more of an anticipation of having an unpleasant interaction. when we walk together on the sidewalk, or through a crowd, he avoids looking at people. Keeps his head down. Avoids eye contact with cashiers, etc. it's very weird to observe because he CAN interact with hearing people quite well when he has to.
Anonymous #1
That's an interesting concept. Never occurred to me that there are deaf people that have fear of hearing people.
They're just people like us...
hmm
I tried to find fear of using one's voice, but couldn't find it in the list. Apparently there are deaf people who have fear in using their voice.
Well, there is a word for that Candy. It's in the Phobias list.
Phonophobia- Fear of noises or voices or one's own voice; of telephones.
I wouldn't be surprised if there are some people who have an irrational fear of using their own voice.
How about fear of not using their voice or fear of using or even seeing ASL
I didn't look hard enough. Thanks!
Yeah, there are people like that.
You nailed it right there about the fear. That is exactly what is happening between deaf & hearing people when it comes to having no communication tools to facilitate their communication.
Hmm... I never heard of deaf people actually scare of hearing people. I don't think I did meet anybody is like that, but I thought it is so weird to be so afraid of someone.
- KarissaMann05
the phobia, or just plain fear and discomfort, goes both ways. A hearing person, upon meeting a deaf person for the first time, may experience panic or other extreme emotions because it's an unknown. In a matter of seconds, the hearing person may be wrestling with a whole bunch of competing thoughts, mostly along the lines of "what the heck am I supposed to DO??" or, if the hearing person might know a little about the deaf or hard of hearing, but take the well-intentioned but wrong kind of approach such as shouting loudly or moving one's lips exaggeratedly.
anyway, I can think of a number of deaf people who would be quite happy to live in an all-deaf or -signing community like Martha's Vineyard of old. then they'd never have to deal with the unpleasantness of not being able to communicate freely.
Anonymous #1
anony #1,
I understand what you are saying but with a phobia it's not about a fear, it's about an irrational fear. It goes beyond just plain apprehension and fear that people can get over it shortly.
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