decibel

Decibels measure sound intensity (amplitude) It can be measured in two ways: frequency and amplitude. Frequency, reported in Hertz (Hz), measures the number of sound vibrations in one second. In daily life, this corresponds to how low- or high-pitched something is. A child's voice is high frequency, for example.

It can be helpful to use normal sounds you encounter every day as a rough scale for decibel levels: 10 dB: Normal breathing. 20 dB: Whispering from five feet away. 30 dB: Whispering nearby.

Sound is measured in decibels (dB). A whisper is about 30 dB, normal conversation is about 60 dB, and a motorcycle engine running is about 95 dB. Noise above 70 dB over a prolonged period of time may start to damage your hearing.

70 decibels is as loud as a washing machine or a dishwasher. It is a moderate noise level. 70 dB noise is not considered harmful to human hearing. However, extended exposure to levels above 55-60 dB can be considered disturbing or become annoying.

between 60 and 85 decibels How Loud and How Long Should You Wear Your Headphones? Experts recommend keeping sound levels at somewhere between 60 and 85 decibels to minimize the damage your ears are exposed to. If you are listening to music at around 100 decibels, restrict your usage to within 15 mins.

With extended or up-close exposure, noises that reach 85 decibels or higher can cause permanent damage to the cilia, or hair cells, in the inner ear, leading to permanent hearing loss.

And so on until a 100 decibels sound is one billion times more intense than complete silence (0 decibels). So, while a sound at 60 decibels is 10 times louder than one at 50 decibels, it is also 100 times louder than a sound at 40 decibels and 1000 times louder than 30 decibels.

How Loud Is 50 Decibels? 50 dB is as loud as a quiet conversation, a quiet suburb, a quiet office, or a quiet refrigerator. Notice the use of the word 'quiet' when describing this noise level? That's because all sounds between 31-60 decibels are considered quiet.

Compared to other, more moderate dB levels, 80 decibels is considered fairly loud. If you compare it to the level of a normal conversation that is at about 60 dB, 80 dB is 100 times more intense and 4 times as loud.

That means an 80-dB sound (a vacuum cleaner) is 10 times louder than a 70-dB sound (a telephone ringing). And it's100 times louder than a 60-dB sound (normal conversation).

You can listen to sounds at 70 dBA or lower for as long as you want. Sounds at 85 dBA can lead to hearing loss if you listen to them for more than 8 hours at a time. Sounds over 85 dBa can damage your hearing faster. The safe listening time is cut in half for every 3-dB rise in noise levels over 85 dBA.

90 decibels is a high noise level, equivalent to the noise generated by a leaf blower or the sound level of a concert. Compared to 80 dB, 90 dB is 10 times more intense and twice as loud. Whenever you are exposed to this noise level, you should wear hearing protection.