Sociomedical Sciences

Mailman School Department of Sociomedical Sciences Hosts First in New York City

Leaders from the public health, environmental and urban health, and social sciences fields attended a conference on Mass Transit Noise held at the Mailman School of Public Health last fall. The gathering was an opportunity for community and agency representatives to preview recent findings on mass transit noise levels as well as to discuss noise-induced hearing loss resulting from community exposure and mass transit ridership. Attendees examined available data as well as identified important knowledge gaps in order to better understand the risks associated with mass transit related noise exposure in the urban setting.

Dr. Andrew Davidson, executive vice dean of the Mailman School and professor of Population and Family Health, welcomed attendees and remarked on the importance of the meeting and the appropriateness of the location. Calling Columbia University “the quintessential urban university and, New York, the quintessential global city,” he commented that there is no better setting to bring together such a group of distinguished speakers, “which the Conference has done in spades. Not only is academia the right environment, but Columbia is the perfect backdrop for discussion on this highly important topic.”

Keynote speaker Dr. Mark Stephenson, senior research audiologist and coordinator of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) hearing loss research, addressed noise exposure standards and current damage risk criteria. Later, Dr. Jaclyn Spitzer, director of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at Columbia’s Department of Otolaryngology/ Head and Neck Surgery, spoke on hearing assessment and screening. Following Dr. Spitzer’s presentation, Dr. Peter Rabinowitz, associate professor of Medicine and director of clinical services in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, gave an overview of the health effects of excess noise exposure.

After these presentations, Mr. Rick Neitzel, research scientist at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, presented recent pilot data on NYC mass transit noise levels. Mr. Neitzel noted differences in noise levels across transit types, each with its unique risks of noise-induced hearing loss. Dr. Gershon then profiled NYC mass transit ridership, offering preliminary results from a study on mass transit ridership habits, estimating the impact of excessive noise exposure, an issue of concern not only because of the magnitude of ridership, but also due to increasingly noisy environments. Dr. Gershon also examined individuals’ occupations and leisure activities in an attempt to assess total noise exposure.

The afternoon session featured a panel of occupational and community advocacy experts from academia, the Train Noise Abatement Association, the NYC Transport Workers Union, and New York State Department of Labor. Representatives provided their perspectives on the importance of addressing noise-related hearing loss and mass transit noise and proposed potential collaborative efforts to reduce workers’ and riders’ exposure to potentially damaging mass transit noise.