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Is a sound level of 105 decibels for a few seconds enough to rupture a person's eardrum? (lemm.ee)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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In 2022, a Texas family filed a lawsuit against Apple for damaging their son's hearing after an Amber Alert went off while he was wearing Airpods. According to Google, the maximum volume of phone headphones is around 105 decibels. The family are claiming that the son now requires hearing aids after his eardrum ruptured.

Is this plausible?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Police and emergency responder sirens are about 120 dB at 1 meter. The duration of exposure is similar to an Amber Alert tone. I don't see people suing cities for ruptured eardrums from exposure to sirens.

Long-term exposure over 85 db can cause hearing loss, but rupturing an eardrum takes a lot higher intensity - 165+ dB. That's a shot from a large caliber weapon from a few feet away. I know it can rupture an eardrum because it ruptured mine (shooting partner emptied his 50 cal Desert Eagle next to me before I got my protection on).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

eta: sorry - replied to wrong comment.

Sound pressure falls off as a function of the square of the distance. So if that jackhammer is 3 m away you are only receiving 11% of the sound energy that the operator is.