Many of us know that prolonged periods of listening to loud noises (100dB and up) can damage hearing. Construction workers, subway attendants, airplane mechanics, iPod owners and even car stereo enthusiasts all spend a god portion of time near loud environments. In fact, I would say that most of us experience a rather loud noise at least a few times daily.
But, the trick is to avoid prolonged exposure. In what could be a rather obvious sign of the times, New York subways can be dangerous to one’s hearing. A study just published out of Columbia University found the highest decibel level on the New York City public subway platform was 106, and the average level was 94 decibels.
Those are dangerous levels indeed, but probably just fine for just a few minutes of exposure. If you’re a daily commuter in the Big Apple, you probably have already discovered that hearing protection might be in order.
Author by Brian White
