Decibel Range Charts and Hearing Info

The charts on this page will show you different noise levels for specific jobs, tools, and various situations. The important thing to remember is to always protect your hearing for noise levels above 85 dB and use double protection if levels go over 105dB.

Once your hearing has been damaged it can't be fixed...So wear hearing protection....unless you like the idea of wearing a hearing aid all the time!

Decibel (dB) Range Charts - Click to Enlarge

Decibel (dB) is the unit used to measure a sound's strength. The decibel scale is not linear but logarithmic. This means that noise levels can't be added directly like other numbers.

On the decibel scale, the smallest audible sound (near total silence) is 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.

For example, a backhoe and a compressor each producing 90 dB have a combined output of 93 dB, not 180. But 93 dB is still twice as much noise as 90 dB. In other words, sound intensity doubles every 3 dB. Hearing protection should be used for any level over 85 dB and double protection for any level over 105 dB.

Sounds must also be specified in terms of frequency or pitch.

Most workplace noises include a wide band of frequencies and are measured through the "A" filter in sound-level meters.

The noise level is therefore expressed in decibels (dB) on the "A" scale, or dB(A).

Duration of exposure is equally important. Duration is typically measured over a workday and accumulated through many years.

The chart below shows different

types of power tools and their noise levels.

Always wear hearing protection for anything over 85 dB!