Decibel Level (Loudness) Comparison Chart

To help you understand how loud a decibel is, we’ve put together this handy chart with data from Yale, NIH.gov and CDC.gov, ordered from quietest to loudest.

Environmental Noise	dBA
Threshold of hearing	0
Quiet natural area with no wind	20
Whisper	25
Suburban area at night	40
Household refrigerator	55
Business Office	60-65
Normal conversation	60-70
Prolonged exposure above this may cause hearing loss nih.gov	71
Vacuum cleaner	75
Chamber music, in a small auditorium	75-85
Telephone dial tone	80
City Traffic	85
Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss nih.gov	80-90
Walkman on 5/10	94
Subway train at 200’	95
Power mower	107
Chain saw at 3’	110
Pneumatic chipper at ear	120
Pain Begins	125
Jet engine at 100’	140

dBA = Decibels, A weighted

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