Last week, as I snuggled into my bed, ready to fall into a fantastic, well-earned slumber, I was startled by a noise.

There, in my quiet Midtown hamlet, was a visitor, most unwanted, driving by, blasting his music as loud as it possibly could go in the wee hours of the morning.

Vibrations and pulses of music filled the room and although I am quite a fan of music, I am not such a fan when it interrupts my sleep “schedule” (I use quotation marks here because a schedule denotes some sort of routine, which is impossible for most college students, myself included).

I could use this column as a rant (which has not been out of my nature to do), but instead, I am going to use this as a public service announcement.

It was not just my sleep that was interrupted, nor my neighbors’, I’m sure.  This poor driver’s ears must have received quite a beating that night.

You see, surprisingly, when one exposes the ear to loud noises for an extended period of time, damage can occur (who would have guessed?).

Perhaps you are not one to drive through sleepy neighborhoods at 2 a.m.  But I ask, have you ever listened to your iPod a little too loudly or gone to a concert and heard ringing in your ears?

Loud noises come in all sorts of packages, but the end result is the same: Prolonged exposure can ruin your sense of hearing.

A person in my family who is very dear to me suffers from a hearing impairment, one she has coped with since birth.  A user of hearing aids, she shakes her head whenever cars crank the turbo bass or she can hear lyrics from someone’s ear buds.

As she sees it, people blessed with normal hearing are throwing it away when they do things like that.

Parallel time, folks!  One wouldn’t look directly into the sun because it can cause blindness.  So why would one willingly put one’s gift of hearing on the line and risk permanent hearing loss?

Want some more incentives to turn the music down?  Let’s dig a little deeper, into your pocketbooks.

Many insurance companies do not cover hearing aids, which are practically a necessity when hearing loss is severe enough.

Instead, the patient is expected to fork out her own money for these devices.

Do you have $3,000-6,000 in loose change?  Because that is what you’ll need to buy a pair of hearing aids (which last about three to four years).

So, as obnoxious as it is to be jolted out of my dreams but an unpleasant racket cruising through my neighborhood, I fear more for the ears of the people who insist on blaring their music so loudly, whether in their cars or their iPod headphones.

Think of your ears, dear friends!  You only get two, so don’t waste ‘em!