In a recent study, American researchers have discovered that the noise levels produced by urban traffic have reached a dangerous threshold, capable of causing permanent hearing damage. It is estimated that around 30 million people worldwide suffer from noise-induced hearing loss. To better understand this issue, scientists measured noise levels in New York's public transportation system and found alarming results: light rail systems emit about 79.4 decibels, subways reach 80.4 decibels, subway platforms can go up to 102.1 decibels, and bus stations are approximately 101.6 decibels.
Interestingly, the noise level tends to be higher outside of vehicles compared to inside, with larger stations producing more noise than smaller ones. Underground areas are generally noisier than surface-level locations. This pattern highlights how everyday environments can expose individuals to harmful sound levels without them even realizing it.
The research also revealed that spending just two minutes per day in a noisy environment, such as a train or bus station, can begin to harm auditory nerves and lead to long-term hearing loss. Prolonged exposure to even slightly loud environments can cause chronic damage, and even small increases in noise levels significantly raise the risk of harm. For instance, a noise level of 95 decibels is ten times more damaging than 85 decibels, and 100 times worse than 75 decibels. A drop of just 10 decibels in hearing acuity can drastically reduce one’s ability to understand speech.
To protect their hearing, scientists recommend using **noise-canceling earplugs** or earmuffs, which can effectively lower noise to safe levels. However, they caution against using devices like MP3 players to drown out background noise, as this often leads to further damage. Instead, wearing protective gear when commuting in noisy environments is strongly advised.
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