Halving exposure duration permits a 10 dB increase in safe sound level

Evidence

This limit holds for the “average person”, i.e. some subjects may be more sensitive. Consequently, sound attenuation, like ear plugs, has to be offered in factories if levels about 5 dB below the level indicated by the thin dotted line are reached. This limit is valid for sounds lasting eight hours per working day and five working days per week. For shorter exposure, the sound intensity can be increased in the same way that the duration is decreased. This means that our ear may be exposed in its most sensitive frequency range to sounds with 100 dB only for about 50 minutes and to 110 dB for only about 5 minutes per day! — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 161

Categorization

• CANDY: Safe listening duration halves by a factor of 10 for each 10 dB rise — a compact, quotable fact about hearing damage risk.