Sound Levels

 

DECIBEL LEVELS (a decibel (dB) is a unit of measurement of sound intensity)

 

The decibel (dB) table below compares some common sounds and shows how they rank in potential harm to hearing. 70 dB is the point at which noise begins to harm hearing. To the ear, each 10 dB increase seems twice as loud.

Sound Levels and Human Response

Common sounds

Noise

Level

(dB)

Effect

Rocket launching pad (no ear protection)

180

Irreversible hearing loss

Carrier deck jet operation

Air raid siren

140

Painfully loud

Thunderclap

130

Jet takeoff (200 ft)

Auto horn (3 ft)

120

Maximum vocal effort

Pile driver

Rock concert

110

Extremely loud

Garbage truck

Firecrackers

100

Very loud

Heavy truck (50 ft)

City traffic

90

Very annoying

Hearing damage (8 Hrs)

Alarm clock (2 ft)

Hair dryer

80

Annoying

Noisy restaurant

Freeway traffic

Business office

70

Telephone use difficult

Air conditioning unit

Conversational speech

60

Intrusive

Light auto traffic (100 ft)

50

Quiet

Living room

Bedroom

Quiet office

40

Library

Soft whisper (15 ft)

30

Very quiet

Broadcasting studio

20

10

Just audible

0

Hearing begins

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