In the book "The Difference Engine: Charles Babbage and the Quest to Build the First Computer" [1], author Doron Swade argued that Babbage suffered from tinnitus [2] in his old age and that's what drove him to wage war on noisy street musicians.

[1] https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Difference_Engine.h...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus