THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC STUDIES ON NOISE AND HEALTH
In 1886, Glasgow surgeon Thomas Barr tested the hearing of around 100 of British coppersmiths (skilled artisans in sheet metal working), proving that the incessant sound of the hammer on metal could cause severe hearing damage.
For modern solutions to deafness, however, we had to wait a little longer: among those proposed by Barr was to have the ecclesiastics shaved, so that during the sermons the workers could easily read their lips.
THE FIRST ORDER ON HARMFUL NOISE
It dates back to the 6th century BC. in the province of Sibari, in Magna Grecia (in today’s Calabria). An ordinance established that the tinsmiths (ie those who worked metal materials) and the roosters should be outside the city, so as not to disturb the inhabitants with disturbing noises.
