Eardrum damage requires hundreds of times the overpressure of an irritating sonic boom

Evidence

It is interesting to see how sudden changes in pressure such as experienced in a sonic boom are calibrated. Overpressure of 1 to 2 pounds per square foot is irritating; 2 to 5 pounds per square foot can cause damage to structures; and damage to the eardrum occurs at around 720 psf, a whopping 35% change in atmospheric pressure. A supersonic aircraft flying only 100 feet overhead produces on the order of 50 to 150 psf overpressure. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 632

Categorization

• QUESTION: The huge gap between ‘irritating’ (1-2 psf) and ‘eardrum damage’ (720 psf) is striking — worth chasing how that ears’ pressure tolerance evolved.
• ADDENDUM: Direct numerical context that long-range noise damage thresholds in the noise books fill in; boosts the argument that acoustic harm scales nonlinearly.