DECIBEL (LOUDNESS) COMPARISON CHART

Here are some interesting numbers, collected from a variety of sources, that help one to understand the volume levels of various sources and how they can affect our hearing.

Environmental Noise
Weakest sound heard	0dB
Whisper Quiet Library at 6'	30dB
Normal conversation at 3'	60-65dB
Telephone dial tone	80dB
City Traffic (inside car)	85dB
Train whistle at 500', Truck Traffic	90dB
Jackhammer at 50'	95dB
Subway train at 200'	95dB
Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss	90 - 95dB
Hand Drill	98dB
Power mower at 3'	107dB
Snowmobile, Motorcycle	100dB
Power saw at 3'	110dB
Sandblasting, Loud Rock Concert	115dB
Pain begins	125dB
Pneumatic riveter at 4'	125dB
Even short term exposure can cause permanent damage - Loudest recommended exposure WITH hearing protection	140dB
Jet engine at 100'	140dB
12 Gauge Shotgun Blast	165dB
Death of hearing tissue	180dB
Loudest sound possible	194dB

OSHA Daily Permissible Noise Level Exposure
Hours per day	Sound level
8	90dB
6	92dB
4	95dB
3	97dB
2	100dB
1.5	102dB
1	105dB
.5	110dB
.25 or less	115dB

NIOSH Daily Permissible Noise Level Exposure
Hours per day	Sound level
8	85dBA
6	86dBA
4	88dBA
3	89dBA
2	90dBA
1.5	92dBA
1	94dBA
.5	97dBA
.25 or less	100dBA
0	112dBA

Perceptions of Increases in Decibel Level
Imperceptible Change	1dB
Barely Perceptible Change	3dB
Clearly Noticeable Change	5dB
About Twice as Loud	10dB
About Four Times as Loud	20dB

Sound Levels of Music
Normal piano practice	60 -70dB
Fortissimo Singer, 3'	70dB
Chamber music, small auditorium	75 - 85dB
Piano Fortissimo	84 - 103dB
Violin	82 - 92dB
Cello	85 -111dB
Oboe	95-112dB
Flute	92 -103dB
Piccolo	90 -106dB
Clarinet	85 - 114dB
French horn	90 - 106dB
Trombone	85 - 114dB
Tympani & bass drum	106dB
Walkman on 5/10	94dB
Symphonic music peak	120 - 137dB
Amplifier, rock, 4-6'	120dB
Rock music peak	150dB

NOTES:

One-third of the total power of a 75-piece orchestra comes from the bass drum.
High-frequency sounds of 2 - 4,000 Hz are the most damaging. The uppermost octave of the piccolo is 2,048 - 4,096 Hz.
Aging causes gradual hearing loss, mostly in the high frequencies.
Speech reception is not seriously impaired until there is about 30 dB loss; by that time severe damage may have occurred.
Hypertension and various psychological difficulties can be related to noise exposure.
The incidence of hearing loss in classical musicians has been estimated at 4 - 43%, in rock musicians 13 - 30%.
Recent NIOSH studies of sound levels from weapons fires have shown that they may range from a low of 144 dB SPL for small caliber weapons such as a 0.22 caliber rifle to as high as a 172 dB SPL for a 0.357 caliber revolver. Double ear protection is recommended for shooters, combining soft, insertable earplugs and external ear muffs.

Statistics for the Decibel (Loudness) Comparison Chart were taken from a study by Marshall Chasin, M.Sc., Aud(C), FAAA, Centre for Human Performance & Health, Ontario, Canada. There were some conflicting readings and, in many cases, authors did not specify at what distance the readings were taken or what the musician was actually playing. In general, when there were several readings, the higher one was chosen.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES -

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

American Tinnitus Association – Information and help for those with tinnitus

Hear Tomorrow – The Hearing Conservation Workshop

H.E.A.R. – Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers

American Tinnitus Association – for musicians and music lovers

Hearing Loss from Headphones - High potential for hearing loss

Turn It to the Left – from the American Academy of Audiology

Binge Listening: Is exposure to leisure noise causing hearing loss in young Australians? [pdf] – report from Australian Hearing, National Acoustic Laboratories

Hearing Aids and Music: Interview with Marshall Chasin, AuD – from the American Academy of Audiology

Safe Listening Resources – from the National Hearing Conservation Association

OSHA Noise and Hearing Conservation - Occupational Health and Safety Administration

“Music isn't just something to be consumed, it was meant to be shared”

“"As engineers and producers we used to capture performances now we create them."”

““I’ve found that no matter what life throws at me, music softens the blow." - Bryce Anderson”

“Music is the universal language of mankind”

“Life Is So Much Better, When You Can Hear All the Colors”

“You can enter the soul through the ear”

“Music Is The Language of the Spirit. It Opens the Secret of Life Bringing Peace, Abolishing Strife”

“Music Finds Its Way Where The Rays Of The Sun Cannot Penetrate”

“Where Words Fail, Music Speaks”

“Music Lives Within”

“The world is in a shitty place and music is a lifting force. It makes things better.”

“Music brings back the feeling of life when nothing else can”

“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”

“It’s not the notes you play; it’s the notes you don’t play.”

“Music Can Cure Things Medication Never Will”

“In all things audio, the ear is the final arbiter.”

“You can play a shoestring if you are sincere.”

“It's taken all my life to learn what not to play.”

“I always wanted to be a drummer, but I didn't have any drums.”

“Where words fail, music speaks.”

“Music is the space between the notes.”

“Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life.”

“Music Is Life. That's Why Our Heart Has Beats.”

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind and life to everything”

“Music is the heart of life.”

“I worry that the person who thought up Muzak may be thinking up something else.”

“Opera is where a guy gets stabbed in the back, and instead of dying, he sings.”

“If in the after life there is not music, we will have to import it.”

“Life is a song. Love is the music.”

“Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought.”

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without”

“All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff.”

“Music is a safe kind of high.”

“For me, music and life are all about style”

“There is two kinds of music, the good, and the bad. I play the good kind.”

“... music is not a luxury, but a necessity.”

“Music is the shorthand of emotion.”

“Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.”

“Music can change the world because it can change people.”

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”

“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”

“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.”

“Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy.”

“The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats...”

“My first wife said, 'It's either that guitar or me,' -- I give you three guesses which went.”

“Music heard so deeply that it is not heard at all, but you are the music while the music lasts.”

“What's wrong with vinyl, I think it sounds great, LPs, 45s and 78s, I'm an analog man.”

“Music is... A higher revelation than all wisdom & philosophy.”

“Music is well said to be the speech of angels.”

“Where words leave off, music begins.”

“I haven't understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it.”

“...my music isn't just music - it's medicine.”

“I've found that no matter what life throws at me, music softens the blow”

“Without music life would B flat”

“Some people have lives; some people have music.”

“The only truth is music.”

“Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.”

“Without music, life is a journey through a desert.”

“Without music, life would be a mistake.”

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”

“Music is the universal language of mankind.”

DECIBEL (LOUDNESS) COMPARISON CHART