My friends find me incredibly annoying whenever we’re trying to figure out a bar or restaurant to patronize.  I always say, “Let’s go someplace quiet.”  Basically, that means I rule out 99 percent of the watering holes in NYC.   But I am going to continue to annoy my friends, especially now that I’ve learned some disturbing things about noise-induced hearing loss.

I made these discoveries while researching the topic for an article for Classical Singer magazine.  Musicians, as you might imagine, have good reason to protect their ears.  But so should everyone else.  Here’s why:

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends hearing protection when noise levels exceed 85 decibels, regardless of duration.  Yet many restaurants and bars in New York City exceed these levels – just ask Steve Cuozzo, restaurant critic at the New York Post, who wrote a column last year entitled “Can Dining Out Make You Deaf?” Or ask me.  I have an app on my iPhone that measures decibel levels, and the levels I see in bars, restaurants, and even coffee shops are worrying.  Meanwhile, some experts think that the safe decibel threshold should be decreased to 70, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended in 1974.

And hearing loss isn’t the only problem high decibel levels can cause.  They can also lead to hearing injuries, such as tinnitus (a ringing in the ears) and hyperacusis,  an uncomfortably heightened sensitivity to noise, including everyday sounds that are not particularly loud.

Some dangerous noises are obvious:  heavy-metal concerts, crowds at sports stadiums and jackhammers.  But screechy subways, sirens, music-accompanied exercise classes, vacuuming, grinding coffee, mowing the lawn, and over-amplified Broadway shows can also do damage.  With such a long list, it’s not surprising that, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 15 percent of Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 have hearing loss that is probably noise-induced.  One prominent doctor I spoke to calls such hearing loss a “growing epidemic.”

It’s best, therefore, to “ear” on the side of caution.  Below are some steps you can take:

• Use earplugs when you’re in a noisy environment. Many manufacturers make portable packs, so it’s easy to stick them in a handbag or pocket and take them with you.  If you’re caught off guard, ball up some tissue and use that instead.
• Consider going out on weekday nights instead of weekend nights, when the crowds are typically larger and the music louder.
• Keep the volume low on your headphones. And don’t overcompensate for background noise, such as the noise you encounter on subways.
• Give your ears a rest. Let them recuperate from the constant onslaught of sound we typically find in urban environments.  Stay home one night and read a book.  Go for a walk in the park.  Visit the library.  Or hang out with me.  I’ll join you in the quiet, totally uncool restaurants and bars … if you can actually find any in NYC.