Acoustics

When is sound harmful to my ears?

Short answer

WHO considers 80 dB safe for up to 40 hours a week; at 90 dB it is only 4 hours a week.

Decibel staircase: Steps of sound: conversation 60, WHO-safe 80 (40 h/week) and 90 (4 h/week), hair dryer 100, pain threshold 140 dB. — **Decibel staircase** — Steps of sound: conversation 60, WHO-safe 80 (40 h/week) and 90 (4 h/week), hair dryer 100, pain threshold 140 dB. (The text inside the figure is in Dutch.)

Explanation

Hearing damage depends on how loud and how long. Each step up sharply shortens the safe time. Below 80 dB hearing damage is unlikely. For leisure noise WHO advises an annual average of at most 70 dB.

Rules of thumb

80 dB: up to 40 hours a week. [SW-S10]
90 dB: 4 hours a week. [SW-S10]
Set your device volume to no more than 60 % of maximum. [SW-S10]
Leisure noise: annual average at most 70 dB LAeq,24h. [SW-S08]

Pitfalls

A hair dryer already reaches about 100 dB; brief use is different from hours on end. [SW-S10]

Search terms

These search terms are in Dutch; only terms that also find a topic in English are links.

gehoorschade koptelefoon volume WHO

Sources

SW-S08 Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment — hoofdstuk 11 Environmental noise — WHO (Reference date 2026-09-27)
SW-S10 Deafness and hearing loss: Safe listening (Q&A) — WHO (Reference date 2026-09-27)

Reference date: 2026-09-27 · Translated with AI from the Dutch original.