How Loud Is Too Loud: Decibel levels of common sounds
Noise is measured in units called decibels, on a scale from zero to 140. The higher the number in decibels, the louder the noise. The louder the noise, the greater the risk of hearing loss. Hearing loss can occur with regular exposure to noise levels of 110 decibels or more for periods longer than one minute. No more than 15 minutes of unprotected exposure to 100 decibels is recommended. Long-term exposure to 80-85 decibels or over can cause hearing loss.
Here is a list of common noises and their decibel levels:
- Aircraft at take-off (180)
- Fireworks (140)
- Snowmobile (120)
- Chain saw (110)
- Amplified music (110)
- Lawn mower (90)
- Noisy office (90)
- Vacuum cleaner (80)
- City traffic (80)
- Normal conversation (60)
- Refrigerator humming (40)
- Whisper (20)
- Leaves rustling (10)
- Calm breathing (10)
Noise levels of 130 decibels or over will be painful and is very likely to cause immediate hearing damage.
Perceptions of increases in decibel level
The list below gives you an idea of how noticable a change in decibel level will be to you:
- 1dB - Not noticable
- 3dB - Barely noticeable
- 5dB - Clearly noticeable change
- 10dB - About twice as loud
- 20dB - About four times as loud
so if i have a 37dB computer case fan…will it be annoying?
You will certainly be able to hear it but it will probably become “background noise” after a short while and it won’t bother you.
When my fan gets too noisy I open up the PC and brush the dust from the fan – that helps for a while.
How loud do you think that a regular cooling fan in a house is that’s at medium speed? Is it harmful for your ears? Thank-you for your help.
What are the decibel levels of a boombox at full volume and medium volume?
[...] loud noise – see How Loud Is Too Loud? for more [...]
How loud is 5 decibels? Our neighbour is building a new house very close to our apartment building. He will have 9 airconditioners (!!!) on his roof. Council regulations require that the noise be no louder than 5 decibels, but I have no idea how loud that will be.
Hi Jacki,
A person whispering is around 20 decibels so 5 decibels is going to be very quiet!
I am curious at which level of hearing loss would a person no longer be able to hear their own voice. I know Profound hearing loss that is probably reality. But can a person with a severe hearing loss hear their own voice? (without hearing aids)
At what distance from the source is a whisper 20 dB?
@Michelle
Great question!
I haven’t had my hearing tested for a year or so now but it’s safe to say that I’d now be considered as having a severe loss. I tried to test myself to see how well I could hear my own voice without my aids in but it was kinda hard to judge because I knew what I was saying. I think I was just about able to hear it but it was very low and very gravelly – certainly, I would not have been able to understand the words if it had been someone right next to me talking.
@Rose
I assume that these sound level measurements are taken as close to the source as possible.
[...] ears will thank you. Fireworks are loud. Up to 140 dB. Which can cause permanent hearing loss. (Spark throwers aren’t this loud, but firecrackers [...]
I am trying to figure out at a distance of 400ft as the crow flies I am reading over two hundred dogs barking at a decibel reading of 47.7 i am trying to establish a nusiance with a the meter its ranges from 46 to 60 and the max hold button im getting about 47.7 what constitutes a nusiance?
Barbara,
I don’t know. I guess each country – and even maybe local authority – have a definition of what noise level is considered a nuisance.
I checked on the UK government website and they don’t actually define the volume that is considered a nuisance. Maybe it just down to the individual making the complaint – if it’s annoying you then it’s a nuisance!
I am trying to decide between 3 dishwashers with dB of 54, 61 and 63. The cost difference is $200 between the lowest and highest. I just want to know if the differences are really worth that much money.
Hi Kathy,
There will certainly be a noticeable difference between the 54db and 63db machines but they are both around normal conversation levels. I don’t know if it’s worth the $200 – I guess if you have money to throw at it then go for it but a 63db washing machine shouldn’t be a problem if it’s in the kitchen and you are in another room.
“80db is ten time louder than…60db”? I think you meant to write, “is one hundred times louder”.
March 3rd, 2009
Hello: Could you pls. tell me the aprox. db level of the speakers that are put on the top of cars when they drive around anouncing their products, services, etc.???
Also, what is the avg. db level of a barking dog?
If you could kindly email me the answers, I would be most grateful. Thank you, Howard Kaplan Also, pls. double email, adding: 7551090211@rek2.com.mx to the one noted on the form.
[...] that they cant mow the lawn. Planes are not allowed to fly overhead, no vaccums, no city traffic How Loud Is Too Loud: Decibel levels of common sounds __________________ Joey [...]
Can you please tell me what is the acceptable level of noise from a next door neighbour in decibels please
You poor pitiful souls need to board the next flight to the moon. I understand it’s deathly quiet up there.
If 40 and 60 decibel level sounds are causing all of this whining and caterwaulering , then outer space is truly your only hope.
I can install baffles in my exhaust pipe to decrease sound by 3 decibles is this alot or even noticable.
Tom,
You may notice a small difference but nothing significant.
Hello sounds like this comment box is for people who just want to and winge about each other and get people around them into troiuble by there council/authorities once they know thefacts about decibel levels.
I only went on this to know how loud my current cpu fan was and found this load of rubbish comment box.
Why dont you all just chill out, stop being so hostile, unless of course someone is obviously and genuinely annoying you then you probably have a right to complain and seek guidance.
Coul you please tell me what is the sound level of an aircraft (boeng 737) at take off?
Cheers for the clear information
my dirtbike is 140 db is that too exsesive?
@Bob
I’d wear some earplugs if I were you.
[...] is a list of common noises and their decibel [...]
What would the decibel level be for a barking dog at 400 feet. Where could I find this information
I am looking for a cell phone for my father who is very hard of hearing and wears two hearing aids. We have tried the Jitterbug and when it is on speakerphone he can hear it quite easily (even says that it blasts him), but we aren’t pleased with the service plans of the Jitterbug. I would really like to add him to my AT&T account. The only problem is that most cell phones are either not very loud or make it too complicated to activate the speaker phone (my BlackBerry has a loud speaker phone but i think a BlackBerry would confuse my father). I found a phone online for the hearing impaired, the ClarityLife C900, but it says that it amplifies the conversation “up to 20dB. I came to this site wondering how loud that would be and it doesn’t sound very loud at all!
Could someone from the hearing-impaired community give me some feedback as to whether or not this would be a good phone for my father?
i was wondering if my 140 db radio is too loud lol
I’m buying a new dishwasher and wanted to know the difference between a 42 db and 53 db. We have a fairly open kitchen to the family room where we watch tv. Would the 53db cause us to want to turn up the tv volume?
Thanks for the information! We’re planning to build a noise-reducing fence along the back of our property (we back onto a busy 4-lane road) and the guy who sells them said we could expect an 8-10 db sound reduction. I’m a little confused by this webpage as it says a 10 db sound is rustling leaves, but a 10 dB change is twice as loud. Is it not a straight scale (such as kms) but a whatchacallit like the Richter scale … logarithmic?
Anyhow…. do you think it’s worth nearly $6,000 to reduce our backyard’s noise level by “only” 10 db?
We have a wedding tent venue next door and our db meter reads 70 db in our yard from the bands. It is VERY LOUD and a nuisance to the neighborhood. What db level should it be in a residential neighborhood to be acceptable to the neighbors? They play until 11pm at least two times per week.
Beverley,
You are right, decibels are measured using a logarithmic scale. A 10db reduction is probably significant for you but as to whether it’s worth that money I could not say. You could always try some earplugs before spending that kind of money on a fence.
Hi, Could you confirm at what decibels could we legally play our Hi-Fi for a few hours of an evening without breaking the law. I have a tool that measures decibels, and would try my utmost to keepit at thelegal level. Could you please confirm. Many thanks
What is the avg. db rating for trains? Thanks, Colt45
Hi there, this is very interesting.
however, wikipedia tells me that an average pop song has a dynamic range of 6 – 10 decibels. but according to you a human breathing is about that level. so whats going on?
[...] hadde målt decibelstyrken på hundens bjeff. Den viste seg å være 110 decibel, hvilket tilsvarer lyden av en motorsag (ikke når den er avslått… ). Forestill deg at du ligger og sover søtt, når noen [...]
[...] noe/noen skremmer henne, kan jeg nemlig love deg at hun prøver å skremme det/dem bort! (Med sine 110 decibels [...]
I work for a City and they are looking to find a decible reader that will automatically shut down after it reaches it’s calibrated exeeded decibel limit (ex. 65 decibels). Is there such a meter? We have citizens that are complaining that our live music in the downtown area is too loud for residents.
I just bought a “schrill alarm” for my girlfriend who’s travelling for a couple of months. It emits a sound of 110db.
I hope she doesn’t have to use it, but if she does, I assume it will give her quite a scare too don’t you think? The sudden increase to a 110db must be scary.
Carlo,
Yeah, definitely, that alarm is gonna give everyone a headache! Let’s hope she doesn’t have to use it.
I’m fairly certain that your decibel levels for the jet engine are exaggerated. The only airplane that could approach that level of sound was probably the XF-84H “Thunderscreech” which was actually a propeller driven aircraft. 180 dB is more like a rocket launch. At that level you begin to approach the edge of what if physically perceptible by our ears (usually cited as around 195 dB) without total phsycal decay.