What is more damaging to the ears?
80 decibels with headphones or 80 decibels on a regular stereo. Or do they both damage the ears exactly the same amoung?
2007-09-08 12:35:23 · 3 answers · asked by bobo 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
There are 2 kinds of decibels. One is electrical where 0 dBm is 1 milliwatt in a telephone. The other is sound pressure where 0 dB is silence.
80 dB of sound pressure is below the level what is expected to be damaging. Teens typically turn their walkman up to 100 dB and rock concerts are more like 110 dB, both levels are unhealthy. These pressure levels are measured at the listner, not the source. Getting closer to the source increases the pressure and danger.
0 dBm of power in a telephone circuit delivers approximately 70 dB of pressure listening in the headset. An audio amplifier that can deliver 1 watt (+30 dBm) will put 100 dB into a headphone. Listening to the same program on speakers at a comfortable distance with the same power would be more like 60 dB. Even sticking your head directly in front of speakers will deliver less sound pressure than headphones with the same wattage because they are less efficient. 100 watt amps are safe with loudspeakers in normal use.
The sound pressure that causes damage is the same, no matter how sourced. 80 dB from a speaker or headphone is perfectly safe. However the headphone is so much more efficient at converting power to audio, that the same electronic amp offers more potential for danger to the listner on phones. A 1 watt walkman can be more dangerous than a 100 watt stereo.
2007-09-09 07:16:07 · answer #1 · answered by lare 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Decibels is a measure of sound pressure at a microphone.
What matters is where the instrument is relative to your ears.
With headphones I presume that the measurement would be at your ear position.
The normal position to measure a stereo would be at 1 metre from the speakers.
These measurements are not comparable without taking into account the decay of sound pressure with distance from the source.
80 decibels at your ears is not damaging.
2007-09-08 14:02:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would say 80 db. with headphones, since they are right on
your ears. 80 decibels will tear out your eardrums, but if it
is played on a regular stereo (with speakers) you can back
away from the speakers and reduce the intensity of sound
hitting your eardrums.
2007-09-08 12:53:59 · answer #3 · answered by Reginald 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋