How To Measure Loudness

I went to the gym the other day and saw a few people working out with headphones on. It seemed that listening to their favourite music while working out helped to improve their workout performance. Or perhaps to cure their boredom.

Whatever the reasons, it was fine with me until a guy came next to me while I was doing some seated dumbbell presses. I could hear the strong rhythmic beats coming out from his headphones and he was standing a few feet away!

Now I am not complaining about noise pollution here. All I’m saying is, does this guy treasure his ears? If he’s trying to exercise his ear drums, it’s surely a damaging way of doing it!

There have been many reports stating that listening to loud music through headphones is a common cause of hearing loss. And what is worse is that you won’t realize you are losing your hearing because the effect is not instantaneous, but is progressive over time.

Hearing damage usually results after long-term exposure to loud noise, but according to Merck website, even brief exposure to extremely loud noise can permanently harm hearing.

So how loud is considered loud and damaging to our hearing?

Photo from Travelitis

Here’s how we measure loudness. It is measured in decibels (dB) based on a logarithmic scale. This means that an increase of 10 dB represents a 10-fold increase in sound intensity, and a doubling of the perceived loudness. Thus, 20 dB is 100 times the intensity of 0 dB and appears 4 times as loud; 30 dB is 1000 times the intensity of 0 dB and appears 8 times as loud.

For example,

0 dB - the faintest sound heard by human ear.

30 dB - whisper, quiet sound of a library.

60 dB - normal conversation, sewing machine, typewriter, ringing telephone

90 dB - lawnmover, shop tools, heavy city traffic
(8 hours per day is the maximum exposure without protection)

100 dB – chainsaw, pneumatic drill, snowmobile
(2 hours per day is the maximum exposure without protection)

115 dB – loud rock concert, car horn, sandblasting
(15 minutes per day is the maximum exposure without protection)

140 dB – gun muzzle blast, jet engine
(Noise causes pain and even brief exposure injures unprotected ears)

180 dB – rocket launching pad

Generally, protection is recommended for sound levels above 85 dB.

How would you know if you are not already suffering from some hearing loss? Well, if you experience the following symptoms, it may be serious enough to warrant an appointment with your ear doctor.

Ringing or buzzing in the ears
Difficulty in understanding speech
Slight muffling of sounds
Difficulty understanding speech in noisy places or places with poor acoustics.

So the next time you wish to listen to your favourite songs on the headphone, remember to turn the volume down a few notches!