The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1893-09-20
THE PHILOSOPHY OF NOISE.
Aversion to Disturbance Is n symptom Of
Ncurotic Degeneration.

Aversion TO Disturbance Is n symptom OF
Ncurotic Degeneration.
Awoman suffering from neuralgia sta
tions her son to keep boys from making
q noise in front of the house. A boy
comes by whistling-a performance in
which we must recognize natural,
wholesome and boylike act, whereupon
there ensues n short, sharp fight between
the pair, in which oneis accidentally cut.
Tho upshot is not important; the origin
of II is.
It has long been usual to accord spe-
cial privileges to invalids in relieving
them against noise. Formerly straw
would be strewn in the street, and thou.
sands of persons who were not sick
would be inconvienced to ease the pains
Of one who was. In part, this custom
was one of ostentation. It could be
practiced only by the influential who
were exalted by making themselves a
nuisance. When death ensued, hatch
ment was set up in the same spirit of
vainglory. All the windows in the
house were closed for term, the dura.
ton of which was fixed by custom, but
which bore relation to the estate of the
deceased and the consequent degree of
exaltation descending upon his heirs.
All healthy animals delight in noise.
The description includes barbarous folk
and children. Dogs bark (curs only
sneak Off, birds scream, boys shout,
girls clap hands to their ears in sweet
confusion, horses paw, all animate ma
ture responds to the exhilaration of noise.
The sick do not. In every form of sick
ness the nervous function is deranged.
As we have seen above mankind has
shown its appreciation of this fact by its
customs. Excessive sensibility to noise
is thus one symptom of neurotic degen-
GRAFTON. II is the mark of one broad dis.
tinction between the state of civilization
and its opposite. 1t testifes to one part
Of the price which that state exacts from
man on his physical side.
Within civilization itself indifference
to noise is one Of the distinctions of
system rudely healthful, both in body
and mind. The converse of this propo-
sition is equally true. Whenever per.
son displays peculiar sensitiveness to
noise we may know that the case is one
of an unwholesome mind in an unwhole.
some body. From the fact that the dis.
turbance is essentially neurotic one it
follows that 1t is controllable to a great
extent by the will. Much of the dis.
turbance that is experienced from noise
can be put completely aside by exercise
Of the will. A barking dog may keep
one person awake while his healthier or
,Ubh hnr ell thA 81 e L..
just. Under the pinging of the cable
car bells valetudinarian subsidies into
frenzy while his younger clerk is Tapped
In dreams Of the equally unconscious
typewriter on the next floor. The con.
trast here need not be one of relative
strength of mind merely; one of the two
minds is sick.
In such case the will power is in.
paired. 1t would probably be found that
the complaining person is also irritable,
passionate, perhaps consumed by self
contemplation. In many cases of this
order relief could no doubt be gained
through treatment by suggestion. But
IN vastly the greater number the patient
is competent to minister to himself. He
is still capable of exerting the will, and
In this exercise lies complete and per-
manent cure. Furthermore, the cure
does not apply alone to the particular
noise that may have called for it. 1t will
be found to have influenced the mind
permanently. The injurious effects at
trlbuted to noise do not proceed from
without, but from within. They do not
inhere in the aerial vibrations, but in the