THE EFFECTS OF NOISE

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21213, 11 July 1934, Page 7

THE EFFECTS OF NOISE

■;.j INK. KUtIOK OF tub ruisss. Sir. Dr. Beeby has given the effects of noise on the mind or mental wellbring <>f people and in doing so has cr.lU-'d attention to the great affliction (:■; m.idem civilisation. But besides the n-'-nl;:! effects we have the more important physical effects, which must j-:ere.!<_• largely the mental. The (lidurbin;.: effect of noise, even a, ..];;! n-:il noise or sound, can be, of fi.ii!-.'''. independent of the . physical fir. i-:-'. and it is in this way that the cent omens radio does its damage to ~ , :i ,1 peace and certainly to mental :»■;,\r,y liadio enthusiasts state that »'■>■-'.-" ,;; > -" on with their various r. <■•!'.;.! occupations while the radio is ),;;icd down to low amplitude. This j,- of course, utter nonsense. IC it were a roMi.'moiis hum without variation mid without meaning one could believe j;. .i. ii:ii.-l of us have experienced it <iii board a steamship. But as soon as the noise becomes intelligible sound the mind must take cognisance of it to the marked disturbance and consequent inc/lieicney of mental effort Cai!vie found it in Chelsea where the varying street noises and cries disturbed him. Carlyle was put down as a curmudgeon, but by people who never really thought deeply for thema:\ '.'(■"■. Deep concentration is only possible when the senses are unstimu-].-.ied as we lind while lying in bed in tlv: early morning or by the evenin" lirehght with the lamps turned out Ihil the staccato noises of the motorcycle and the roar of traffic first affect Hie ear before the mind, and it is this :,speet I shall point to. Interrupted noises may have a worse effect mentally, but the physical effect is due to Die sharpness and loudness of the noi-es, i.e., the timbre and amplitude raid to a lesser extent to the pitch. The' interruptions, like light interruptions may cause mental confusion,- but as continuous pure white light produces Mich effects as snow blindness, so continuous sharp and loud noises have a very damaging efl'ect on the auditory apparatus. The higher ranges of hearing • gradually disappear and we get the so-called boiler-maker's deafness The boiler-maker apparently hears v.rll m the noise because he has "become accustomed" to the noise: in je:d..y for that class of sound he is e'eaf and therefore can hear the voices t't normal people, which of course are raised.

What is (ho damage lo the hearing" (Opinions difTcr. Some hold that it is Cue to rupture or stretching of the I'brcs of the basilar members which they liken, to the strings of a piano. Others .say that it is due to damage to the .specialised ceils of Corti's organ, analogous to the damage done by light In the special cells of the retina. Others, again, fay it is clue to damage 1o the lianfilionie cells of the nerve of Lairing in the boney canals of the internal car, while a fourth class say it ir> defeneration in the nuclei of the hr;:in stem. This last is rather fanciful. Most believe the damage is done .'•] the ear itself. Besides deafness, thstrrrsing tinnitus (ear-noises) of an intractable character arises. The deafj:e.-'; and tinnitus have a decided mental effect immediately and remotely.

oo that in fighting the noise nuisance v,-e roust consider both the mental and physical, and to me the physical is far the more important as it produces incapacity for work and social intercourse more noticeable than the pyeriic.—Yours, etc., nirxi in pace. ■Uu) 10, UK'A.