SAFE SOUND LEVELS:
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines are stated in terms of the maximum time that you can safely be exposed to different time-weighted averages (TWAs) of sound pressure on a daily basis over a 40-year period.
TWA Decibel Levels Max. Exposure
85 dB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 hours
88 dB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 hours
91 dB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2 hours
94 dB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 hour
97 dB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 minutes
100 dB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 minutes
103 dB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1/2 minutes
106 dB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3/4 minutes
Exposure to 115+ dB or greater may pose a serious health risk.
Motorcycle/Hair dryer/Lawn 85-90 dB
mower/Leaf blower
Woodshop/Chainsaw/Firecrackers (small) 100-110 dB
Ambulance Siren/Jet Engine at Take-Off/Pneumatic Drill 110-120 dB
Rock concerts 119-140 dB
Just found you through Deaf Village. I’m the mom of a hoh 2 year old boy.
Wow….I never even stopped to think about the sirens I’m exposed to all the time. We sometimes run it for a lot more than 7 minutes, since we are a good 15-20 minutes away from the closest ER with lights/sirens going. However, typically in our service, we dont leave the siren on constantly unless its really heavy traffic. We turn it on and off depending on how many cars are around us. We live in a fairly rural area, and there is no need for blasting sirens for miles with no cars.
Do you know anything about in-utero exposure to these loud decibls, and if there is any research about causing hearing loss for the fetus? I was an EMT while pregnant, and so far we havent been able to pinpoint the cause of my little boy’s loss. Hmmm.
Hi,
I do not have any answer for you on in utero and hearing loss. There are so many things that could have happened for your son to have hearing loss. Does your son’s doctor have any answers for you? Sorry.