Some voices make you want to scream and screaming is contagious. When you play scary games on Halloween night part of the fun is having a good scream along with a good laugh, but when you’re listening to a voice that makes you want to scream and you can’t leave the room or say anything – what do you do?

When a friend in a group asked for things that frighten us most psychologically, some people said spiders  someone had a button phobia:  Koumpounophobia and a couple of others had phobias with (some) tones of voice: Misophonia.  I suspect that this is linked to the voices of people who they don’t like, because of what they say or represent.  I understand completely that listening to people who you know to be lying and they know that they’re lying, but they say it anyway, can feel like a sharp kick in the stomach.  There are also the droners – these are the people who pretend to sympathise with others, when they haven’t even listened to what’s been said.  I can think of a popular BBC presenter and host who does this a lot and 3 prime ministers.  A client once told me that listening to one political commentator made his teeth stand on edge like the sound of fingernails on a blackboard.  Of course, people can have the greatest voice in the room but if you don’t like what they’re saying it’s going to jar on you.

The best advice for when you’re confronted with someone’s voice that you really can’t bear to hear, is to imagine the sound of the voice as a colour and then change that colour into a colour that you like.  It won’t change your mind about what you’re hearing, but you’ll instantly feel better. 
About 4 percent of the people on Earth have the ability to see sound as a colour automatically.  It’s called synesthesia. A lot of musicians and music writers have the ability. Need help with your Voice? Contact us to find out more: