The effect of brief subway station noise exposure on commuter hearing

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