The effect of brief subway station noise exposure on commuter hearing

Abstract

Objective: To demonstrate that brief exposure to subway noise causes temporary threshold shift and is preventable with noise protection. Methods: The study was conducted as a randomized crossover trial. Twenty subjects were randomly assigned to two groups, one with hearing protection and one without. Subjects were exposed to subway platform noise for 15 minutes. Pre- and post-exposure pure tone audiometry (PTA) and otoacoustic emissions were compared. After a washout period, subjects switched hearing protection groups and repeated the process. Results: A statistically significant reduction in PTA thresholds after subway noise exposure was identified, for subjects with and without hearing protection (P