Spain is going deaf: This is the city with the highest risk of deafness for residents due to traffic.

Today, it's clear that cities are hostile spaces for several reasons, one of them being the deafening noise that surrounds us as we walk down the street: car horns, construction work, traffic lights, loudspeakers... The medical community has been warning about the use of headphones , which has already become widespread among a large part of the population, but now traffic is also a concern. Science confirms its relationship with deafness.

The Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (SEORL-CCC) has emphasized the impact of traffic, citing various scientific studies that have revealed stratospheric levels of noise pollution that go completely unnoticed by ordinary people. We perceive loud noises, but we are not even remotely aware that we are putting something as important as our hearing at risk.

Traffic, the major source of noise pollution

According to SEORL, almost one-third of Spaniards are exposed to traffic noise levels that exceed 65 decibels , considered the acceptable threshold, which can cause hearing loss and other health problems. Traffic is responsible for 85 percent of noise emissions, with levels that can reach between 80 and 85 decibels.

According to a recent study , Barcelona is the third noisiest city in Europe and the sixth in the world. The Catalan capital has the highest level of noise pollution of all the European cities analyzed. And what if we ask ourselves about the top three cities in the world in this ranking that is detrimental to hearing health? The same study reveals that Paris leads the ranking , with a noise pollution level of 58.62, followed by New York with a level of 68.91. In third place is Hong Kong with a level of 65.86.

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The dangerous fashion of headphones

On the street, on public transport, in museums, on terraces... These days, it's rare to find someone who isn't wearing wireless headphones . We've become accustomed to seeing them as a kind of appendage to the human ear . The problem is that the trend has spread (widely) among minors, especially teenagers.

Here, SEORL again draws attention: the risk of hearing loss and tinnitus already affects 50 percent of this population group. So much so that the specific profile of those most affected by so-called recreational noise has been identified: male adolescents and young adults who suffer from hearing loss linked to recreational drug use and are at risk of permanent hearing damage.

References

SEORL (2025, April). Noise increases the risk of hearing loss . https://seorl.net/noticia/el-ruido-aumenta-el-riesgo-de-hipoacusia/

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