It is sometimes said that writing about hearing is only possible with audio documents. Background noises could only be determined through media-technological recordings of language, sounds and music or through physical measurements of sound levels. Heiner Stahl's historical study shows that it is still possible. She examines the soundtracks of the noises that were and are contained in historical documents for the period between 1880 and 1960. This includes decisions by courts, opinions by trade inspectors and police authorities, assessments by city doctors and health authorities and complaints from citizens. Social acoustics is made up of stocks of auditory knowledge that struggle with each other for the power of designation. This can be seen in immission conflicts about noises that occurred in the phonotopes factory, living, traffic, rally and airspace. She negotiates the self-understanding, cultural traditions and spatial ordering of noises.