Volume of the largest non-nuclear explosion in historyĬenter of the atomic bomb blasts at Hiroshima and NagasakiĬenter of the Tsar Bomba test conducted by the Soviet Union, believed to be the loudest sound ever created by humansĬenter of the Mount Saint Helens volcanic eruption New Jersey firing all 9 of its 16-inch guns Note that since it’s not possible to put a decibel meter near many of these events and have it survive, dB levels above 200 are mostly theoretical. Since we’ve already established that being near sounds above 200 decibels will kill you instantly, these are just here as fun facts. You’re also likely to start having other problems with whatever is creating the noise (here’s a hint: don’t stand next to a pound of TNT). Below about 170 dB, ear protection can still save you, but store-bought earplugs and earmuffs won’t be enough. Serious Injury Range (115 dB to 140 dB)įorget hearing damage - these sounds will give you permanent everything damage. At this level, you’ll also begin to feel the sounds in parts of your body other than your ears. Being near a sound above 115 dB for any length of time without protection can cause permanent hearing damage. There is no safe amount of exposure to volumes in this range. Without ear protection, nobody should be exposed to 90 dB for more than 8 hours per day, 100 dB for 2 hours, 105 dB for 1 hour, or 110 dB for more than half an hour. Sounds at this range can damage your hearing, either immediately or through prolonged exposure. 85 decibels is the highest volume that poses no health dangers. Listening to these sounds poses little or no risk to the average person. You’ll be able to hear these, but it will take a lot of effort, and there can’t be any distractions. Zero dB is theoretically the lowest limit of human perception, but in practice, a human will rarely be able to hear a sound below 10 dB. Since it’s logarithmic and relative, the decibel scale is also limitless in both directions and doesn’t stop at 0. 40 dB is twice as loud as 30 dB, and half as loud as 50 dB. Logarithmic means that, for every 10 dB, the corresponding real-world volume doubles. Relative means that dB is only a useful measurement when compared to other dB values. Instead, just remember that decibels are relative and logarithmic. One decibel (1 dB) isn’t equal to anything that’s easy to describe in the real world - it comes from a complex equation involving pressure that we don’t need to get into right now. The decibel is the standard international unit used to measure volume. In this article, we’ll explain exactly what a decibel is, and what levels of dB correspond to which real-world sounds.
Is the whole concept of decibels (dB) foreign to you? Do you have a vague idea that more dB equals a louder sound, but no clue what a decibel is or how many you want out of your car’s sound system?
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