1990
Garry Kilworth's short story "White Noise," published in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Vol. 3 (1990), explores themes of sound, silence, and social control, which resonate with aspects of Max Neuhaus's sound art.
The Short Story: "White Noise"
The story itself deals with a fictional social mechanism, possibly the "SoundEar" device mentioned in related contexts, used to monitor and manage ambient sound levels in public or controlled environments, such as schools and pubs. The narrative examines the subtle ways noise is regulated and how people react to an enforced quiet, contrasting natural human interaction (like the rising crescendo of noise in a British pub) with an artificially imposed silence.