Decibel Level
Written by Bryan on Monday, January 25th, 2010 in Health, Health Advisory.
For some reason, people are requesting information on decibel levels all over the place.
So here is some information on what it really is.
According to the all-knowing Wikipedia decibel level is
The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit of measurement that expresses the magnitude of a physical quantity (usually power or intensity) relative to a specified or implied reference level. Since it expresses a ratio of two quantities with the same unit, it is a dimensionless unit. A decibel is one tenth of a bel, a seldom-used unit.
The decibel is widely known as a measure of sound pressure level, but is also used for a wide variety of other measurements in science and engineering (particularly acoustics, electronics, and control theory) and other disciplines. It confers a number of advantages, such as the ability to conveniently represent very large or small numbers, a logarithmic scaling that roughly corresponds to the human perception of sound and light, and the ability to carry out multiplication of ratios by simple addition and subtraction.
And here is a common decibel chart
| Environmental Noise | |
| Weakest sound heard | 0dB |
| Whisper Quiet Library | 30dB |
| Normal conversation (3-5′) | 60-70dB |
| Telephone dial tone | 80dB |
| City Traffic (inside car) | 85dB |
| Train whistle at 500′, Truck Traffic | 90dB |
| Subway train at 200′ | 95dB |
| Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss | 90 – 95dB |
| 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′, Gun Blast | 140dB |
| 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 |
| 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 |






