This means that loudness is not directly proportional to sound intensity. Like the Richter scale for measuring earthquakes, the decibel scale is logarithmic. Sounds above 70 dB will damage hearing over time. That’s the sound of a normal conversation between two people. Most industrial products, if given a sound rating, will have a decibel rating versus a sones rating. Sounds at or below 70 dB are considered safe for our hearing. For example, a sound that is 10 times more powerful than 0 dB (near silence) is 10 dB, while a sound that is 100 times more powerful would be 20 dB. Instead of using a linear relationship like sones ratings do, decibels use a logarithmic formula that is a very useful tool for measuring sound. A-weighted decibels, or dBA, are often used when describing sound level recommendations for healthy listening.

Sometimes we use different versions of decibels. The dBA scale closely matches the loudness of sounds as perceived by the human ear. Decibels are used to measure the pressure of sound. Using the logarithmic decibel scale, if a sound is 80 decibels, and we add another 10 decibels, the sound will be ten times more intense, and will seem about twice as loud to our ears. The loudness of the noise is measured in A-weighted decibels and is abbreviated to dBA. If you scale your provisioned storage capacity within the month. They are also usually measured in half-sone increments.ĭecibel ratings are a more complicated formula. Storage (per GB per month) Storage capacity you have provisioned to your DB instance. The sones formula is linear, so 1 sone is precisely half as loud as 2 sones and so on. Average Sound Level (measured in decibels) Typical Response (after routine or repeated exposure) The quietest sound heard.

This decibel chart displays sound levels from absolute quiet (0 dB) to loud noises (140 dB). We hear sound differently based on the frequency, so the higher the frequency, the better we can hear that sound. Let’s begin with the softer decibel range (up to 140 dB). Sone ratings were created to measure how loud we perceive something to be. While sones and decibels both can be used to measure sound, they focus on different aspects of loudness.

Decibel scale chart