Professional pianist faces seven years in prison after being accused of causing 'psychiatric injury' to fed-up neighbour who heard her practice daily for four years

Professional concert pianist Laia Martin is facing up to seven years in prison if found guilty of causing 'psychological injury' and noise pollution by practicing

A professional concert pianist faces seven years in prison after her neighbour said the daily practice sessions caused 'psychiatric injury'.
Sonia Bosom claims Laia Martin played the instrument eight hours a day, five days a week in the apartment below hers in Puigcerda, Spain.
Despite experts saying the practice was quieter than a spoken conversation, Ms Bosom says she now suffers from a range of problems caused by the 'noise pollution'.
Ms Martin, 27, is being tried along with her parents,Luis Martin and Isabel Hernandez, in the northeastern city of Gerona.
Ms Bosom, who lived above the Martin family, claims she suffered noise pollution from 2003 to 2007
The pianist denies playing at home that often, saying she took regular classes in other towns. She claims she mostly practiced at home on the weekends.
On Monday, the first day of the trial, the El Pais newspaper reported that Ms Bosom told the court she now hates pianos so much she cannot even stand to see them in a film.
The prosecution claims that years of hearing constant playing has caused her 'psychological injury.'
Medical reports showed she suffered from a variety of problems, including insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks and gynecological problems.

Ms Bosom and her family moved in 2007 and she says she has had to take time off work because of  her problems.
The prosecutor said tests by local authorities found that the sound levels made by the piano were repeatedly up to 10 decibels higher than the 30-decibel limit laid down for musical instruments in the town.
City authorities asked the family several times to either stop the piano playing or soundproof the room.
The family told the court they carried out soundproofing work twice but the complaints continued, the newspaper reported.
Nuria Blanes, an environmental scientist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said noise around 40 decibels 'is not very much.'

Martin, father Luis Martin and mother Isabel Hernandez are being tried on noise pollution charges because former neighbour said she has suffered long term problems as a result of the pianist playing the instrument

A normal conversation produces 55-60 decibels, with noise in a bar reaching 65-70 decibels and an airplane in flight producing 110-120 decibels, she said.
However, she also noted that some studies have established links to health problems such as sleep disturbances and cardiovascular disease if someone faces a constant noise level of over 40 decibels during the night.
'The norm is for 30 decibels as a nighttime limit inside a house, but some authorities are widening it to daytime, which is surprising,' said Fernando Simon Yarza, a constitutional law professor at Navarra University.
He said that may be due to the high fines that courts have forced some towns to pay for not taking action against excessive noise levels.
'Protection against noise and environmental quality is considered a human right,' he said.
The prosecutors have asked for all three defendants to be sentenced to six years in jail for noise pollution and an additional one-and-a-half years for psychological damage.
They have also demanded that all three be prohibited from playing the piano professionally for four years.
A Catalonia Justice Tribunal spokeswoman said the trial will end November 15 with the verdict issued at a later date.

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