Question

What is the safe limit of sound level in for our ears in $dB$?
A. Upto $12dB$
B. Upto $120dB$
C. Upto $180dB$
D. Upto $10dB$

Answer 1

Human Ear is one of the most sensitive organs in the human body. High-frequency sounds will lead to damage to human hearing over time. Hence it becomes important to have a safe limit of sound level, which must be less than the maximum audible sound range for the human ear. Sound level is measured using a logarithmic unit known as decibels ($dB$).

Complete answer:
The human ear is very sensitive, and it can only detect sounds of a specific frequency or pitch.

Damage caused to hearing is caused due to listening to a particular decibel's sound directly for some amount of time. As stated by world health organization (WHO), the safe volume level of sound to our ears is $85dB$ and listening to sound above $85dB$ for a prolonged period can lead to temporary damage to sensitive tissues and hair cells in the inner ear and sometimes can even lead to permanent loss of hearing.

However, the World health organization considers that listening to sounds up to $120dB$ is bearable and considered to be safe. However, listening to such sounds for a continuous duration of time will make the ears prone to permanent hearing loss.

Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

Note:
It is essential to know that the loudness of the sound that we directly listen to for a duration of time determines our hearing ability. Furthermore, similar to temperature, the sound frequency can also go less than zero. However, the human ear can hear sounds as low as $0dB$, and those with excellent hearing ability can hear up to $-15dB$.