Ubiquitous yet largely overlooked, noise poses a real threat to public health. In New York City, it fuels stress, sleep disturbances, and cardiovascular disease, yet remains treated as a minor nuisance, far behind air pollution.
Tim Mulligan, 43, now avoids taking the subway. But in a city with hyper-heavy traffic, dominated by the sound of jackhammers and sirens, this veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder can't escape the cacophony.
"I covered my window with acoustic foam, installed double curtains, I sleep with earplugs and I move around with noise-cancelling headphones," the Manhattan resident, who lives near Times Square, told AFP.
The subway – above ground or underground –, car traffic, bars, helicopters, construction: New York is constantly echoing.
A normal conversation reaches 50 to 65 decibels. Car traffic is between 70 and 85 decibels. A jackhammer can reach 110 decibels. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends not exceeding an average of 70 decibels on a daily basis. However, in New York City, this limit is exceeded almost everywhere.
The numbers confirm what our ears are experiencing: in 2024, the 311 hotline—the number for municipal services—received more than 750,000 noise complaints, the most frequent complaint in the city. By August 14, 2025, there had already been nearly half a million.
And yet, the megacity is an exception in the United States: it has a "Noise Code," which sets thresholds and provides for penalties, and has even deployed cameras equipped with sound sensors to fine excessively noisy drivers.
But experts consider the response largely insufficient.
– All age categories concerned –
University of Michigan professor and public health specialist Richard Neitzel has been coordinating a large national study with Apple since 2019: more than 200,000 volunteers wear a smartwatch that records their sound exposure.
The initial results are alarming: "A quarter of Americans are exposed to levels that threaten their hearing in the long term," he emphasizes.
In New York, according to a study he conducted between 2010 and 2012 with Columbia University, the figures were even worse: "We measured that about one in ten New Yorkers was at risk of hearing loss simply by taking the subway every day."
And the consequences go far beyond the ears: lack of sleep, increased risk of cardiovascular or cerebral accidents, depression, cognitive disorders... The list of known effects is growing, without provoking any major political reaction.
Because "unlike air pollution, (…) noise does not receive the same attention from the general public" and from the authorities, regrets the researcher.
All age and demographic groups are affected, but some more than others. Young adults aged 18 to 25 are exposed to a large amount of noise through their phone's earphones, often at excessively high volumes. In working-class neighborhoods, the noise environment is often more intense due to major roads and construction sites.
For audiologist Michele DiStefano, director of the Shelley and Steven Einhorn Center, "the stronger and more prolonged the exposure, the more severe the hearing loss will be. And there is no going back," even though this risk can obviously be "prevented."
The paradox is that in some places, noise is intentionally sought. At a Mexican restaurant in Hudson Yards with blaring music, manager Shane Newman admits it frankly: "With the music, the atmosphere seems more festive. Customers stay longer, consume more."
Conversely, other studies show that noise accelerates table turnover, increasing the profitability of establishments.
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