The volume of human speech is about 45 decibels. On the street, we are surrounded by sounds with a volume of 65 to 80 decibels. This is a safe level of noise for our hearing and no one will definitely go deaf from it. But as soon as a person's hearing is affected by sounds at a level of more than 85 decibels, problems begin. Due to powerful sound waves, the hair cells inside our ears are damaged and cannot convert sound waves into electrical signals for the brain. These cells do not recover, so if a person is often in noisy places or listens to loud music on headphones, over time he can completely go deaf. There are sources of such loud rumors in the world that a person can lose his hearing very quickly, without even expecting it. Let's get acquainted with them to be careful. Do we want to keep our ears healthy?
When we hear loud sounds, our hearing begins to beg us for mercy
Contents
- 1 The loudest sounds in the world
- 2 The loudness of a police siren
- 3 How loud is it at concerts
- 4 Noise during a rocket takeoff
- 5 Loudness of a gunshot
The loudest sounds in the world
Many people don’t even realize how much they risk their hearing every day. Most often, hearing does not deteriorate instantly, but gradually and over several months or even years. There are particularly dangerous sources of sound that can very quickly lead to deafness.
The volume of a police siren
When a police car, ambulance or other car with flashing lights drives along the roads, we hear the sirens even when we are at home. The fact is that the volume of sirens reaches 130 decibels, and this sound can easily lead to hearing loss. Of course, your hearing will not disappear instantly, but the damage to the hair cells will be quite serious – in the long term, this is a very dangerous phenomenon.
Many of us underestimate the volume of police lights. Photo source: istockphoto.com
How loud is it at concerts
Fans of rock concerts, where the volume level always exceeds 100 decibels, are at great risk to their hearing. For example, in 1976, the British group The Who played their songs at a volume of 126 decibels, and this event was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the loudest concert in human history.
Rock bands give the loudest concerts, you can’t argue with that. Image source: drive2.ru
Performers themselves suffer especially badly at rock concerts, because they are the ones standing closest to the sound sources. In 2016, due to hearing problems, AC/DC singer Brian Johnson was forced to take a leave of absence — doctors strictly forbade him to stop performing, because otherwise he could go completely deaf.
Musician Brian Johnson. Photo source: soyuz.ru
Chris Martin, the lead singer of the British band Coldplay, suffers from frequent pain and ringing in the ears. According to him, the impact of loud music almost ruined his entire career.
Alarming news for music lovers:Loud music in headphones can deprive 1.3 billion people of hearing
Noise during rocket takeoff
During the launch of space rockets, people stand as far away from the takeoff point as possible. This is not only because the area is very hot – the temperature of the gases escaping from the nozzle reaches 2000 degrees Celsius. In addition to this, during the launch of a rocket, a very loud noise is emitted at a level of 140 decibels and higher. For example, the Saturn-5 rocket that sent the Americans to the Moon roared at 204 decibels.
The huge Saturn 5 launch vehicle. Photo source: ixbt.com
If you put a person next to a rocket and put the best fireproof suit on them, they will still get hurt. At the very least, they will lose their hearing due to acoustic trauma, which destroys a huge number of hair cells. In acute trauma, a person can actually go deaf for life.
Sometimes there are explosions on launch pads: After the launch of SpaceX Starship, a crater appeared on the launch pad and cars were damaged
The loudness of a gunshot
When shooting at a shooting range, people should always wear ear protection. The volume of a gunshot depends on many factors: the surrounding space, the model of the gun, the caliber of the cartridges, and so on. The loudest sound is made by the Glock 17 pistol loaded with 9×19 mm Parabellum cartridges – the volume of its “bang” reaches 165 decibels. Note that it is louder than the noise of a rocket taking off. However, this sound disappears in an instant. Needless to say, when shooting indoors without ear protection, a person can damage their hearing or go completely deaf?
A gunshot always causes a ringing in the ears. Image source: pcnews.ru
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Finally, it is worth noting that the highest sound level is 194 decibels. Then the sound does not spread through the air, but begins to push it in front of itself – this is a shock wave. During the nuclear explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a wave arose that covered 11 kilometers in just 30 seconds. This deadly explosion could be heard at a distance of hundreds of kilometers.