As a follow-up and in support of Rabbi Dr. Wallace Greene’s important article “Louder Isn’t Always Better” (September 15, 2022), I offer the following anecdote. In 1960, while I was in pharmaceutical sales, one of my clients was an elderly Italian ear, nose and throat specialist, located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The office furniture and decor were dark and somber; the walls were lined with pictures of Enrico Caruso; and Caruso’s robust voice permeated the waiting room. Yes, this physician was a great aficionado of Caruso, in fact he claimed that at one point in his life, he treated him.

Over the course of a couple of years, I was privileged to learn about the great tenor. The doctor, whose name escapes me, warned me back then, so many decades ago, to beware of loud noises, especially music. I didn’t heed his advice, and I now depend on assisted hearing devices, which are simplistic in contrast to natural hearing. Thank you, Rabbi Greene, for bringing this important subject to the attention of the many who can and will hopefully benefit from it.