Ms. Clemente’s job involved ushering guests downstairs into the pounding club, which sits beneath Lavo’s restaurant, at 39 East 58th Street. To protect her hearing, she wore silicone earplugs. But their efficacy was thwarted by the radio headset she wore in one ear, cranked up over the music, to communicate with other workers and handle logistical issues.

She often complained about the noise, she said, but her employers did not take action until last summer, after The Times recorded and reported volumes averaging 96 decibels, akin to a power mower, in Lavo’s restaurant. Legally, workers should not be exposed to that volume for over three and a half hours without ear protection. And Lavo employees said the volumes at the downstairs club were far worse.

Lavo began offering its employees earplugs and hearing tests, said Ms. Clemente, who declined to give her age. It was then that she discovered her hearing loss. Initially, she said, one of the club’s executives said she could probably work at the door, but she was later told that would not happen. She was also charged retroactively, she said, for additional tests and treatment related to her hearing damage.

David Jaroslawicz, a lawyer who represents Lavo, though not in this case, said there were numerous meetings between Ms. Clemente and the Lavo executives and that she was offered “numerous” positions. “This unfortunately deteriorated to where she decided she was going to take a shot and buy a lottery ticket in the form of a lawsuit,” he said.

Because hearing loss is cumulative, proving that Ms. Clemente’s hearing damage was caused by working at Lavo will be difficult, several audiologists said. “If she didn’t have a hearing test prior to this episode, it’s hard to pinpoint that as the cause,” said Kevin O’Flaherty, an audiologist at Manhattan Audiological Services.

Yet Ms. Clemente (who sued under her legal name, Margaret Clemente) said she had never been subjected to such loud volumes before working at Lavo. Although she had worked for several years at other nightclubs, she said, she worked at the door, insulated from loud music.

“The only time I’ve been exposed to this kind of noise was at Lavo,” she said. “My hearing was damaged and I was let go.”