Noise and gastric secretion.

In view of the increasing incidence of diseases such as gastritis and ulcers in workers exposed to noise, we assessed whether noise does in fact affect gastric secretion. Then, considering the conflicting findings published on the effects of noise on gastric secretion, we also investigated whether the response was related to differences in baseline secretion, and whether it was further modified by a hydroalcoholic meal. We studied 50 dyspeptic subjects engaged in various types of work but not occupationally exposed to noise. They were exposed to a "pink noise" stimulus of 95 dB administered through earphones, lasting 15 minutes. Gastric secretion sometimes remained unchanged, sometimes increased, or sometimes even decreased in relation to the baseline hydrochloric acid secretion. The hydroalcoholic meal did not generally modify the effects of noise. These findings might help explain the differences in previous reports on this question.