The Effects of Noise on Men

Men subjected to the excessive noises of war over a long period sometimes build up an over-sensitiveness to any sort of loud, sharp report. They are in the state of a man with a hangover. The bang of a door will make them jump. A loud shout is painful. The noise of a truck exhaust is frightening. In hospitals where men are convalescing from bad cases of these war nerves, the dropping of a pan will startle a ward full of sleeping men so violently that the jerk will bring them out of their sleep and even out of their beds and onto the floor. Men become used to the din of a boiler factory or a pneumatic drill. It