Sir, Your report “Stop the Music, visitors tell museum” (Oct 16) and your letter “Noises off” (Oct 17) hit the nail on the head. There is no need to pipe music around an exhibition when people who want it can listen privately via headphones. Unwanted music becomes noise, not music.
Horrible though such music is in an exhibition, it is nothing compared with the torment caused by piped music and television in hospitals. There people lying immobilised on beds or stretchers are powerless to escape it.
Far too often music or televisions (sometimes both) are still played in hospitals, despite growing evidence that unwanted music causes psychological and physical stress, Because of this, Pipedowners are asking MPs to support a private member’s bill to ban piped music/television in hospitals for the same reasons smoking has been banned: involuntary listening can seriously damage your health.
Nigel Rodgers
National secretary, Pipedown: the campaign for freedom from piped music