NOISE : ITS RELATION TO HEALTH, DISEASE, AND 

 LONGEVITY. 



By J. M. McWharf. M. D., Ottawa. 



npHIS question has never received a fair consideration at the hands 

 -*- of science nor of the medical profession; we are therefore 

 unable to give as complete status of things as might be hoped for 

 or desired. 



The gravity of the question necessarily demands a thorough, 

 scientific investigation of all points pertaining thereto. In our 

 mad rush for wealth, we forget that health, life, in fact, everything, 

 must be sacrificed. Are we to be classed with the "heathen 

 Chinee," the man who has educated himself up to a condition of 

 stolid indiflPerence at the sacrifice of a human life ? He looks at 

 his brother as he sinks beneath the wave and never exerts a muscle 

 nor expresses a word of sorrow or regret ; the environments do not 

 touch a chord of sympathy, and in all probability are never re- 

 called. 



Not many years ago a poor, deluded, foolish fellow conceived 

 the idea that he preferred to live in New York or not to exist at all. 

 The noise of the great city he could not endure, especially ths ear- 

 splitting noise produced by the bells of a neighboring church ; he 

 therefore sought relief by committing suicide. This is an indi- 

 vidual case, and yet there are thousands of cases to-day where people 

 are made ill, or are committing slow but sure suicide, as a result of 

 useless noises. 



Noise must be classed as a great factor or element as a non-pro- 

 ducer of health. This being true, it is of necessity important, 

 from a medical standpoint. Every scientific man, and especially 

 every medical man, should have a word to say and a duty to per- 

 form along this line. If we study this question from a physiolog- 

 ical standpoint, we are forced to admit that rest is essential to 

 health and longevity. This being true, over or persistent stimula- 

 tion of an organ or a set of organs must necessarily be pathogenic. 

 The greater the tension of the machinery in action, the less the 

 durability. Herbert Spencer, it is said, used a mechanical con- 

 trivance and plugged up the auditory canals, thus securing relief 

 from noise. Such action is not commendable, yet we are forced to 

 admit that the relief would be a happy combination of circum- 

 stances. 



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