{"id":44594,"date":"2026-08-14T15:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44594"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:22:15","slug":"nyc-council-pitches-bill-to-let-cops-use-noise-blocking-devices-to-protect-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=44594","title":{"rendered":"NYC Council pitches bill to let cops use noise-blocking devices to protect hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2F137309507.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It gets loud on the big city beat.<\/p>\n<p>The City Council is mulling a bill that would offer cops electronic hearing devices to protect their ears on the job in the \u201cvery loud\u201d Big Apple.<\/p>\n<p>The bill, introduced Thursday by GOP Minority Leader David Carr and Council Public Safety Chair Oswald Feliz, would create a one-year pilot program for the NYPD to offer ear protection that will reduce noise by at least 25 decibels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNew York is a very loud city and our police officers are exposed to these noises constantly, whether it\u2019s blaring sirens, car horns or even people screaming in their ears,\u201d Carr told The Post. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese devices will provide an important benefit not just to our officers but to all New Yorkers, by protecting the hearing of the people who protect us,\u201d Carr added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>NYC Council Minority Leader David Carr introduced the new bill that would create a pilot program for protective hearing devices across all five boroughs. <span class=\"credit\">Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Studies have shown that police officers across the country face higher levels of hearing loss than the general public, with more than a third of officers reporting some level of loss.<\/p>\n<p>Typical digital devices fit in the ear canal but could block sudden spikes in noise levels such as gunfire without muffling or dampening regular sounds the way traditional earplugs would.<\/p>\n<p>The equipment would be provided to at least one precinct in each borough and would be doled out on a \u201cfirst-come, first served\u201d basis to officers who don\u2019t exclusively work indoors under the pilot.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ohio has a program where local police departments can apply for the same type of electronic protective hearing devices in order to reduce job-related hearing loss.   <span class=\"credit\">Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cPolice officers work long hours to keep New Yorkers safe. Too often, they deal with loud and prolonged noise that can have negative effects on their hearing,\u201d Feliz (D-Bronx) told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must make every effort to ensure they are able to carry out their duties without having to worry about the long term impact on their health and well-being,\u201d he continued. <\/p>\n<p>The NYPD would be required to provide officers with information about hearing loss and release a report within two months of the pilot\u2019s conclusion assessing the program and whether it should be expanded.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Public Safety Chair Oswald Feliz (D-Bronx) sponsored the bill that would create a year-long pilot program before NYPD would consider implementing a full program.  <span class=\"credit\">Gregory P. Mango for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ohio has a similar program where local departments can submit requests for the protective devices paid for by the state.<\/p>\n<p>The NYPD and the New York City Police Benevolence Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.  <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It gets loud on the big city beat. The City Council is mulling a bill that would offer cops electronic hearing devices to protect their ears on the job in the \u201cvery loud\u201d Big Apple. The bill, introduced Thursday by GOP Minority Leader David Carr and Council Public Safety Chair Oswald Feliz, would create a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/137309507.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}