Toddler DD is terrified of loud noises - is this normal/does it pass?

[DitaVonCheese]

DD is now 18 months and becomes hysterical at noises like the hoover, hand blender, DH's jigsaw, my sewing machine etc etc. She was fine with them when she was a baby, then suddenly seemed to notice them and gets very upset. I assumed she would grow out of it, but she hasn't yet. Is this just a normal stage?

My mum, based on dog training methods , thinks I shouldn't comfort her when she's upset as it just reinforces the idea that there's something to be upset about. Whilst I can see the logic in that, I don't see how it's possible to not comfort a sobbing, trembling toddler who is clinging on to me like a koala to a tree

I can't imagine her being scared of the vacuum cleaner as an adult, so I'm still assuming it will pass at some stage, but just wanted to see if this was a normal thing and whether there's anything I should be doing about it.

TIA

yes, v normal ime. ds as a baby wasn't bothered by the hoover, then terrified by it, now desperate to help. bit of a shame that as once he was ok I lost my excuse for not hoovering v often! I had to wait until he was soundly asleep or was out of the house with someone else to hoover. Just didn't expose him to it.

various noises still freak him out and he is nearly 3. I would always comfort and reassure him, think your mum is wrong. dog training - wtf?

Yep. DD was petrified of all loud and sudden noises. Would literally wet herself with fear at the sight of the vacuum etc.

She grew out of it by about two when she started making loud noises

MY DS1 has a phase of being scared of the hoover (after previously liking it) as a toddler and was terrified of the hand dryer things in toilets. It lasted a few years actually beacuse he refused to use the toilet at nursery (aged 3-4yo) because of the extractor fan, but he did grow out of it eventually.

A friend's DS1 though was scared by all loud noises, especially sudden ones and it turned out he had glue ear - apparently, whilst it can cause hearing difficulties, it can also make their hearing over senitive, so might be worth getting her checked out.

I absolutely wouldn't leave a scared toddler uncomforted though - you Mum is mad

Completely normal. My DS (6) is still terribly excessive-noise sensitive. He literally shakes at very loud unexpected noises eg motorbikes and has great difficulty walking past noisy roadworks.

Him and sister get very over excited when the hoover is on. They try to drown out its noise by making a louder noise of their own. Fortunately I can't hear it.

His hearing is excellent, he can hear a chocolate wrapper at a mile, I reckon.

I would never ignore his fear though. I see your Mum's point rationally, but if a child of mine is terrified, of course I am going to comfort them.

lisbey - oh yes, hand driers are a particular source of terror for ds - especially those super-powerful Dyson blade ones!

we went to a museum recently where they had a WWII exhibit for children. ds hasn't stopped talking about the scary noise - recording of bombs dropping... gah.

GoingP - to be fair, bombs dropping are quite scary!

Very normal....My DS now 3.7 years has always been noise sensitive - as a small baby he was scared of hoover/handblender/hand dryers/hairdryer and other random noises and would often cry at the post dropping on the mat . As he's got older he will hear things I just can't but things that clearly bother him. He's also a light sleeper (that though has got a lot better) but will still say to me often "what's that noise mummy?" and often I have absolutely no idea.

I don't think their acute hearing gets dulled but their reaction to it gets better as they get older. DS was also one scared by motorbike/roadworks noise for eg and will still jump slightly if a bike comes by but isn't so bad as he was. I can also take him for a wee without him stopping midflow and peeing on the floor as the handdryer goes on !!!...

I think though ignoring it just escalates the problem - I always try to comfort in a fairly distracting way rather than "pander" to it IYSWIM.

A lot of fears seem to improve with age - even today we went to a petting farm and DS who used to be terrified of any animals actually bottle fed a baby lamb - I was amazed (and proud !) - but I never thought he'd be doing that 6 months ago so I'm sure your DD's fears will get better honestly.

Thank you so much for the replies, very reassuring Thanks also for making me chuckle several times and yes, my mum is mad

Pefectly normal. My dd (now 5) has had a morbid fear of hand dryers for years. I used to have to hoover when she was asleep too. It passes, and of course you should comfort her, she isn't a poodle!!!

Normal. My dd is now 5 and would scream and cry at hand dryers as recently as 6 months ago. Completely over it now

Just came across this thread. Were/are your dcs also scared by other children shrieking (in excitement)? How did they cope with nursery/preschool?
My dd (3.5) gets very upset if she's in a situation where other children start shrieking loudly while playing - and as she's due to start pre-school on Monday I'm really worried about how she'll cope. She's always been quite sensitive to noise (is just starting to cope with the quieter handdryers!), and finds mixing with children she doesn't know difficult anyway, so loud noisy children always result in her running to me for comfort - but now I won't be there for her.......