In a Letter to the Editor in last week’s St. Kitts/Nevis Observer, a writer complains about me, and I quote – “And as much as I agree with Mr. Trott’s anti-noise campaign, he has become a bore and you are short-changing your readers yet again by allowing him to devote his column every week to the same subject.”
It’s not the first time that I’ve been called a bore and I certainly don’t expect it will be the last time either, unless I suddenly drop dead like I suspect some people wish. But I’m going to keep hammering away on the same subject, hoping to create an awareness in the community of the seriousness of the problem with loud noise and music and its harmful effects.
And I’m disappointed that the bored writer couldn’t find something more constructive to offer, since he says he agrees with my anti-noise campaign. I don’t claim to have all the answers and have been begging for some help. I think it’s a shame that more people who agree with me about the problem are shy about doing anything to help overcome it. The problem will only get worse if no one does anything about it.
In recent issues I’ve tried to coax some of our professionals in the fields of health, education and other areas, to step up and publicly comment about the dangers of unnecessarily loud noises and music in our midst, but nobody has taken the bait. No one has risen to the occasion. No one has displayed any intestinal fortitude, leadership or interest. The silence of our professionals, our authorities and our leaders on this issue, sends the wrong message to the rest of the community. It says that they are either afraid and unwilling to say anything about the problem, or that they don’t believe that loud noise and music is a serious problem. Either way, I feel the lack of their input is a doggoned shame!
No one should be in the dark concerning the harmful effects of loud noise, as scientific studies have shown that it negatively affects every living thing including vegetation and animals. In a book titled “The Secret Life of Plants,” there is a comprehensive description of some plants in a controlled study, withering from exposure to loud raucous music while others being exposed to soft classical music flourished abundantly.
And on Sunday March 2, a news item by the Associated Press revealed that the U.S. Circuit Court of appeals upheld a ban against the Navy conducting training exercises using sonar in a manner that could harm whales and other sea creatures. Sonar is a device that emits underwater blasts of sound.
I recently searched the internet to see if I could find anything under “The Benefits of loud music.” There was nothing at all under that heading, but an avalanche of information was available about the dangers of loud music. One web site, Sound-Remedies.com had a wealth of information about music for babies and youngsters.
One article states, “In 1998 a few states in America actually legislated applications of classical music for infants and young children. In Georgia, every newborn leaves the hospital with a classical CD or cassette – a gift from the state! Florida now requires all its state-funded childcare facilities to play classical music every day…”
Another web site, by Barry Blesser, PhD. has an article titled “The Seductive (Yet Destructive) Appeal of Loud Music. A couple of the headings in the nine page article are “Music Changes the Brain and Body” and “Loud Music Functions as a Self-Medicating Drug.” In his closing paragraph he says “Like every drug, loud music can be very destructive in high doses.” And ends with “Immediate gratification can thus produce deafness with a corresponding disruption in social and emotional well being.”
When I searched the web under “Isn’t Music Neutral,” I turned up a nine-page pamphlet that said that it wasn’t and claimed that it “influences and manipulates us more than we know.” It says “Music affects the body in subtle, but powerful ways,” and that “Music can also be dangerous to the body,” “Rock music can literally kill,” and that “Music has a profound effect upon the mind.”
On the internet, there is so much well documented information about the perils of loud music and the benefits of soft soothing music, that I really shouldn’t feel the need to be writing commentaries about the same subject week after week that may be boring anybody.
Every well-informed person in the community should be aware by now of the hazards of loud music, and particularly concerned about what it may be doing to our children. The fact that so few people seem to care enough to try to do anything about it, seems kind of scary to me.
And the seeming lack of any public show of concern from our health, education and other officials, forces me to continue my struggle to be heard, in my own boring fashion. It’s a doggone shame! If you agree and want to join forces with me, call Amba Trott – 469-1424 or 765-3559.
