What decibel level is dangerous?

Hearing damage risk begins at 85 dB averaged over 8 hours (NIOSH). Every 3 dB louder halves the safe time, so 100 dB is safe for only about 15 minutes. At 120 dB and above, sounds like sirens and fireworks can injure hearing immediately.

What is a safe noise level?

Below 70 dB is safe for any length of time (EPA). From 70 to 85 dB is fine for a normal day. Sustained exposure at or above 85 dB is where hearing risk begins, and the safe time shrinks fast above it.

How loud is too loud?

Any sound at or above 85 dB over a full day carries hearing risk. Brief exposure to louder sounds is fine, but the safe window shrinks quickly: about 2.5 hours at 90 dB, 15 minutes at 100 dB, under 2 minutes at 110 dB.

Decibel Chart: Decibel Levels of Common Sounds

This decibel chart lists 30+ common sounds in decibels: a whisper is about 30 dB, normal conversation 60 dB, city traffic 80–85 dB, and a rock concert 105–110 dB. Hearing damage risk starts at 85 dB for sustained exposure (NIOSH), and sounds at 120 dB or more — sirens, fireworks — can injure hearing immediately.

Last updated: June 9, 2026

Decibel chart of common sounds in decibels, with exposure risk per NIOSH recommended limits
Sound	Level (dB)	Where	Hearing risk	Source
Normal breathing	10	home	Safe — Safe at any duration	CDC
Ticking watch	20	home	Safe — Safe at any duration	CDC
Soft whisper	30	home	Safe — Safe at any duration	CDC
Refrigerator hum	40–45	home	Safe — Safe at any duration	CDC / NIDCD
Moderate rainfall	50	outdoors	Safe — Safe at any duration	ASHA
Normal conversation	60	home	Safe — Safe at any duration	CDC / NIDCD
Window air conditioner	60	home	Safe — Safe at any duration	CDC
Washing machine	70	home	Low — Annoying, but below the level where NIOSH says damage begins (85 dB)	CDC / NIDCD
Dishwasher	70	home	Low — Annoying, but below the level where NIOSH says damage begins (85 dB)	CDC
Vacuum cleaner	70–75	home	Low — Below the 85 dB damage threshold for typical use	NIDCD / ASHA
Alarm clock	80	home	Low — Brief exposure — not a damage risk at typical durations	NIDCD
City traffic (heard from inside a car)	80–85	city	Moderate — At 85 dB, NIOSH limits exposure to about 8 hours per day	CDC / NIDCD
Gas-powered lawn mower	80–85	home	Moderate — At 85 dB, NIOSH limits exposure to about 8 hours per day — wear hearing protection for long jobs	CDC
Gas-powered leaf blower (bystander)	80–85	home	Moderate — Operator exposure is higher — hearing protection recommended	CDC
Hair dryer	80–90	home	Moderate — At 88 dB, NIOSH limits exposure to about 4 hours per day	ASHA
Kitchen blender	80–90	home	Moderate — Short bursts — total daily exposure is what matters	ASHA
Shouted conversation	90	city	Moderate — At 91 dB, NIOSH limits exposure to about 2 hours per day	CDC
Riding a subway	90–95	city	Moderate — At 94 dB, NIOSH limits exposure to about 1 hour per day	CDC
Motorcycle (rider)	95	city	High — About 47 minutes per day before damage risk (NIOSH)	CDC / NIDCD
Car horn at 5 m (16 ft)	100	city	High — NIOSH allows about 15 minutes per day at 100 dB	CDC / NIDCD
Approaching subway train	100	city	High — NIOSH allows about 15 minutes per day at 100 dB	CDC
Sporting event (stadium crowd)	94–110	leisure	High — Peaks can exceed 110 dB — earplugs recommended for full games	CDC
Jackhammer (operator)	100	work	High — Hearing protection required under occupational rules	NIOSH
Personal listening device at max volume	105–110	leisure	High — Minutes, not hours — NIOSH allows under 5 minutes at 105 dB	CDC / NIDCD
Nightclub or loud bar	105–110	leisure	High — A full night out far exceeds safe exposure — use earplugs	CDC
Rock concert	105–110	leisure	High — A full set far exceeds safe exposure — use earplugs	CDC
Chainsaw	110	work	High — Under 2 minutes of unprotected exposure per day (NIOSH)	NIOSH
Shouting or barking directly in the ear	110	home	High — Under 2 minutes of unprotected exposure per day (NIOSH)	CDC
Emergency siren (standing nearby)	120	city	Extreme — At or above the pain threshold — immediate injury risk	CDC / NIDCD
Thunderclap (nearby)	120	outdoors	Extreme — At or above the pain threshold	NIDCD
Firecrackers	140–150	leisure	Extreme — A single blast can cause permanent damage	CDC / NIDCD
Firearm at the shooter's ear	140–165	leisure	Extreme — A single shot can cause permanent damage — double protection advised	NIOSH
Jet engine at takeoff (25 m)	140–150	work	Extreme — Immediate injury without hearing protection	NIOSH

Tap any sound in the decibel chart for its own page in decibels: how loud it is, how long is safe, and what else hits that level. Every value above is sourced to published figures from the CDC, NIOSH, NIDCD or ASHA — linked per row. None of these numbers are invented. Our own calibrated measurements of real environments will be added and marked “measured by us” once recorded.

How loud is a specific decibel level (in decibels)?

Jump to a level to see what it sounds like and how long is safe:

How loud is 70 decibels (70 dB)?

70 dB is about the loudness of a washing machine or dishwasher from a few feet away — clearly audible, slightly effortful to talk over, but not harmful. The decibel scale is logarithmic: 70 dB carries ten times the sound energy of 60 dB (normal conversation), and 80 dB carries one hundred times more.

What decibel level causes hearing damage?

NIOSH’s recommended exposure limit is 85 dB(A) averaged over an 8-hour day. Each 3 dB above that halves the safe duration: 88 dB is safe for about 4 hours, 94 dB for about an hour, 100 dB for about 15 minutes. At 120 dB and above, sound can cause immediate injury. See safe decibel levels for the full safe-versus-risk breakdown by level. The WHO additionally recommends keeping average road-traffic noise exposure below 53 dB L_den to avoid broader health effects — see the city sound map for how major cities compare.

NIOSH safe listening time per day, by decibel level (85 dB / 8 hours, 3 dB exchange rate)
Decibel level	Safe time per day (NIOSH)
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	8 minutes
106 dB	4 minutes
109 dB	2 minutes
112 dB	56 seconds

Printable decibel chart (PDF)

To print this decibel chart or save it as a PDF, press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on Mac) and choose “Save as PDF”. The chart and the NIOSH safe-listening times print clean on a plain page, with the site menu and buttons removed.

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How to cite this page:

Decibel Shield. "Decibel Levels of Common Sounds." decibelshield.app, 2026, https://decibelshield.app/decibel-levels-chart/. Accessed [date].

License: this decibel chart is published under CC BY 4.0 — reuse or republish it anywhere with attribution to decibelshield.app. The underlying sound-level figures are public data from the CDC, NIOSH, NIDCD and ASHA; see our editorial policy for the full sourcing and reuse terms.