Physiological Effects of Noise

The remarkable symposium arranged by Bruce L. Welch and Annemarie S. Welch for the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, Massachusetts at the end of the year 1969 was devoted to the physiological effects of audible sound. Dr. Welch and his wife were able to bring together a distinguished group of scientists from all parts of the world. It was very remarkable to be able to discuss the physiological aspects of noise with representative scientists from Israel, France, Germany, Hungary, Russia, Australia, Canada and Argentina. Dr. and Mrs. Welch ran the meeting in a delightful manner and continued to maintain interest and enthusiasm. Now the results of the conference are available. It is to be hoped that this volume will find wide interest and attention. We must differentiate noise from sound. Noise is unpleasant, unwanted or intolerable sound. On the other hand, even ordinary sound may at times be unpleasant, simply because we are not con­ ditioned to it. The general impression that one gets from reading the various reports on the physiological effects of noise is bad. It's a pollutant that we can each individually reduce, and maybe we can have a great enough effect socially so that we can significantly lower the noise levels which may result in considerable harm to us. It is interesting that noise as a pollutant has only recently attracted attention.