opsspec1991
Active member
by B. Gil Horman
It is estimated about one in 10 Americans has hearing loss that affects the ability to understand normal speech. The most common cause of this condition is excessive noise exposure. It just so happens shooting firearms is a popular activity that subjects its participants to noise levels intense enough to cause permanent hearing loss, unless the proper precautions are employed.
But how loud can a gun really be? It varies some depending on the firearm and ammunition used, but the sound is more intense than one might think. If we were to measure the report of a rifle, the sound would be checked for the following:
•Frequency: from low to high sounds, measured in hertz.
•Duration: how long the report lasts.
•Intensity: how soft or loud a sound is, measured in decibels (dB).
It’s important to note when sound levels are represented in decibels, the increase in sound intensity is expressed in a logarithmic scale. The softest audible sound—near total silence—is represented as 0 dB. A sound 10 times more powerful is 10 dB. A sound 100 times more powerful than near total silence is 20 dB. A sound 1,000 times more powerful than near total silence is 30 dB. This means a change in volume from 150 dB to 140 dB is a more significant reduction in noise intensity than reducing 50 dB to 40 dB.
To clarify how loud a sound measured in decibels can be, it’s helpful to have some everyday sound comparisons to work with. Normal conversation occurs at 60 dB. Lawn mowers run at 90 dB, a jet engine at 140 dB, and the noise on a rocket pad during launch pushes the top end of the scale at 180 dB. So where does gunfire land in the lineup? When a gun goes off, the report slams into bare eardrums at 140 dB or more.
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It is estimated about one in 10 Americans has hearing loss that affects the ability to understand normal speech. The most common cause of this condition is excessive noise exposure. It just so happens shooting firearms is a popular activity that subjects its participants to noise levels intense enough to cause permanent hearing loss, unless the proper precautions are employed.
But how loud can a gun really be? It varies some depending on the firearm and ammunition used, but the sound is more intense than one might think. If we were to measure the report of a rifle, the sound would be checked for the following:
•Frequency: from low to high sounds, measured in hertz.
•Duration: how long the report lasts.
•Intensity: how soft or loud a sound is, measured in decibels (dB).
It’s important to note when sound levels are represented in decibels, the increase in sound intensity is expressed in a logarithmic scale. The softest audible sound—near total silence—is represented as 0 dB. A sound 10 times more powerful is 10 dB. A sound 100 times more powerful than near total silence is 20 dB. A sound 1,000 times more powerful than near total silence is 30 dB. This means a change in volume from 150 dB to 140 dB is a more significant reduction in noise intensity than reducing 50 dB to 40 dB.
To clarify how loud a sound measured in decibels can be, it’s helpful to have some everyday sound comparisons to work with. Normal conversation occurs at 60 dB. Lawn mowers run at 90 dB, a jet engine at 140 dB, and the noise on a rocket pad during launch pushes the top end of the scale at 180 dB. So where does gunfire land in the lineup? When a gun goes off, the report slams into bare eardrums at 140 dB or more.
Read more: Link Removed
