Decibel Levels

Inaudible Range (Less than 10 dB)
-9 World’s quietest room
0 Lowest audible sound to human ear
10 Average silent room


Barely Audible Range (10 to 40 dB)

You’ll be able to hear these, but it will take a lot of effort, and there can’t be any distractions.

13 Hum from a light bulb (switched on)
15 Pin drop on solid floor from 1 meter
30 Nighttime in rural area
35 Main hall of a library
40 Human whispering
45 Hum from a refrigerator


Normal Range (40 to 85 dB)

Listening to these sounds poses little or no risk to the average person. 85 decibels is the highest volume that poses no health dangers.

50 Corporate office environment
55 Rainfall; light traffic (closed windows)
60 Average conversation between adults
65 Acoustic piano; moderate traffic
70 Busy restaurant
80 Vacuum cleaner; hairdryer
85 Garbage disposal; school cafeteria




Dangerous Range (85 to 115 dB)

Sounds at this range can damage your hearing, either immediately or through prolonged exposure. Without ear protection, nobody should be exposed to 90 dB for more than 8 hours per day, 100 dB for 2 hours, 105 dB for 1 hour, or 110 dB for more than half an hour.

90 Tractor 
95 Truck or motorcycle engine 
100 Subway platform at rush hour; orchestra from the first row 
105 Pneumatic drill; car stereo at max. volume 
110 Rock concert from the gallery; car stereo with two 6×9 speakers and 100 watts 
115 Power saw; backhoe; ambulance siren 


Serious Injury Range (115 dB to 140 dB)

There is no safe amount of exposure to volumes in this range. Being near a sound above 115 dB for any length of time without protection can cause permanent hearing damage. At this level, you’ll also begin to feel the sounds in parts of your body other than your ears.


120 Rock concert from the front row; thunderclap overhead 
125 Cymbal crash; loudest possible human scream 
130 Jet engine taking off; air raid siren 
135 Firecracker 
140 Shotgun blast directly beside ear 




Deadly Range (140 dB to 200 dB)

Forget hearing damage — these sounds will give you permanent everything damage. Below about 170 dB, ear protection can still save you, but store-bought earplugs and earmuffs won’t be enough. You’re also likely to start having other problems with whatever is creating the noise (here’s a hint: don’t stand next to a pound of TNT).

150 Formula One car at full throttle 
160 Inside jet engine or rock concert speaker bin 
170 7,000-horsepower engine 
180 1 pound of TNT detonating 15 feet away 
190 Grenade blast epicenter 
200 Causes immediate death 




Extreme Range (more than 200 dB)

Since we’ve already established that being near sounds above 200 decibels will kill you instantly, these are just here as fun facts. Note that since it’s not possible to put a decibel meter near many of these events and have it survive, dB levels above 200 are mostly theoretical.

210.6 Epicenter of a magnitude 2.0 earthquake 
213 Sonic boom 
214 Space shuttle launch 
215 U.S.S. New Jersey firing all 9 of its 16-inch guns 
235.2 Epicenter of a magnitude 5.0 earthquake 
243 Volume of the largest non-nuclear explosion in history – the “British Bang” which in 1947 destroyed an entire island with 6,700 tons of ordnance 
248 Center of the atomic bomb blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki 
282 Center of the Tsar Bomba test conducted by the Soviet Union, believed to be the loudest sound ever created by humans 
286 Center of the Mount Saint Helens volcanic eruption 
310 Theoretical volume of nature’s loudest sound, the eruption of Indonesia’s Krakatoa volcano