Decibel Equivalent Table (What’s how loud)

10dB Absolute silence

13dB Incandescent light bulb hum

15dB Pin drop from a height of 1 centimetre heard at a distance of 1 meter

30dB Totally quiet night time in desert

40dB Whispering

60dB Normal conversation

85dB Beginning of hearing damage range, earplugs should be worn

100dB Normal average car or house stereo at maximum volume

110dB Car stereo with two 6 x 9” speakers and 100 watts

116dB Human body begins to perceive vibration from low frequencies

120dB Front row at a rock concert

125dB Drums, at the moment of striking

130dB Typical professional DJ system

127dB Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) begins. Permanent hearing loss

128dB Loudest human scream

130dB Marching band of 200 members

132dB Eardrum vibration noticeable

133dB Gunshot

135dB “Very loud” street car stereo (Bass only)

140dB Threshold of pain, all frequencies

140dB Hearing protection required (definite long term damage)

140dB human throat and vocal cord resonance occurs

141dB Nausea felt after a few minutes

144dB Nose itches due to hair vibrations

145dB Vision blurs due to eyeball vibration

147dB Formula 1 race car full throttle drive bye

149dB Human lungs and breathing begins vibrating to the sound 150dB Loud rock concert, at speakers

150dB Sensation of being compressed as if underwater

152dB Vibration is painful and felt in joints

153dB Throat vibrating so hard it is impossible to swallow

154dB Compression will burst child’s balloon

155dB Experience cooling from excited air movement, up to 15 degree C perceived cooling

158dB Inside of a rock concert speaker bin with 5000 watts power

160dB Flashlight exhibits electromagnetic pulsing (dimming during tone)

163dB NHRA Top Fuel Dragsters- 5000 to 7000 horsepower

163dB Possible glass breaking level

164dB Internal sound of a large jet turbine

165dB Jet airplane, Example: Boeing 727, at take off

170.75dB = 1 per square

172dB Fog is created, depending on the temperature, dew point and humidity

174dB Air begins to heat up due to compression

175dB Quarter dynamite stick, very close pressure may exceed 210 db.

177dB = 2

180dB 1 pound TNT at 15 feet

181.6dB Loudest extreme SPL car in the world

183dB = 6 PSI. On large scale would result in total destruction of all structures, and particle velocity of 180 per hour.

191dB 1 lb. bomb or grenade at blast epicentre

193.979dB 1 pressure, 14.504 pounds per square inch

195dB Human eardrums rupture

202dB Death from sound wave (shock) alone.

210.6dB Earthquake Richter scale equivalent 2.0

213dB Sonic boom generates approximately 1.2 gigawatts power equivalent

215dB Space shuttle launches exhaust, approximately 3 miles per second

215dB Battleship New Jersey firing all 9 sixteen inch guns

216dB Equivalent to a piston engine cylinder with a 9 to 1 compression ratio 235.19dB Earthquake Richter 5.0 or 31,624 tons of TNT

243dB Largest non-nuclear explosion ever, 1947 explosion in Nazi u-boat pens used 7100 tons of explosive

248dB Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, August 6th & 9th, 1945. Total disintegration of 16 square miles, wind was around 300 miles per hour, destroyed 28” thick concrete walls at 1 distance. Leaving a crater 633 feet wide and 80 feet deep.

286dB Mt. Saint Helens volcanic eruption

310dB Krakatau volcanic eruption 1883. Cracked one thick concrete at 300 miles, created a 3000 foot tidal wave, and heard 3100 miles away, sound pressure caused barometers to fluctuate wildly at 100 miles indicating levels of 190db at that distance from blast site. Rocks thrown to a height of 34 miles.