Decibel Levels
225 12" cannon @12'
194 Saturn rocket, 50# TNT at 10'
175 breaks thin sheets of metal
160 human eardrum ruptures
150 blowdown or relief valve discharges, air raid siren
140 artillery fire, jet aircraft,, ram jet
130 pain threshold, immediate ear damage
130 very loud music
120 discomfort encountered
120 max voice
100 jack hammer, lawnmower
90 heavy city traffic
85 hearing impairment if noise is continuous
80 difficulty in phone conversation
70 street noise, television
60 Normal conversation close up
50 quiet, normal office, quiet stream
45 wake a sleeping person
40 neighborhood with no cars
30 very quiet, quiet talk, recording studio
20 inside empty theatre, ticking of watch, whisper
10 barely audible, sound proof room, low threashold of hearing
0 absolute silence
Govt. Permissible levels
Level in decibels:
90 — 8 hours
92 — 6 hours
95 — 4 hours
97 — 3 hours
100 — 2 hours
102 — 1.5 hours
105 — 1 hour
110 — .5 hour
116 — .25 hour
Written by Wally Glenn
Edited by Neil Carlberg, Maque Da Vis and Daniel Walsh.