Audiology Brief: Hearing in the Big Apple

(As published in AHSA Leader Magazine, December 21, 2010)

The crowded streets of Manhattan may give visitors a thrill, but they also may put New Yorkers at risk for hearing loss, according to a study released at the International Conference on Urban Health at the New York Academy of Medicine.

Researchers wore monitors that measured noise levels near their ears at 60 Manhattan sites selected from data on noise complaints called into a city hotline.  Measurements were taken from 9am to 5pm on weekdays.

Most readings were above 70 decibels. People whose daily noise exposure tops an average of 70 decibels can lose some of their hearing over time, said Richard Neitzel, a University of Washington research scientist and one of the study's authors.

Some of Manhattan's noisiest spots were along the city's truck routes, but the city's quietest neighborhoods also were the source of come of the highest numbers of noise complaints.  For example, the residents of the Lower East Side, East Village, and West Village may live closer to ground level with fewer buffers between them and street noise. For more information about the conference, visit www.nyam.org/icuh2010.