September 9, 2026 News
Most firearms measure between 140 and 175 decibels at the shooter’s ear. A standard pistol round runs around 160 dB. A .308 rifle can push 165 dB. A .22 sits near the bottom of the range.
For context, 140 dB is the level at which a single exposure can cause permanent hearing damage. Not damage that accumulates over a career. Damage from one shot.
That is the whole reason this article exists. Almost every other noise a person deals with is a question of how long they are exposed. A gunshot is not.
Where common sounds land
| Sound | Approximate level | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Normal conversation | 60 dB | Safe indefinitely |
| Busy restaurant | 75 dB | Safe indefinitely |
| NIOSH recommended limit, 8 hours | 85 dBA | Protection recommended |
| Walk behind lawn mower | 90 dB | OSHA limit for a full shift |
| OSHA permissible exposure limit, 8 hours | 90 dBA | Protection required |
| Leaf blower | 100 to 105 dB | Roughly 2 hours unprotected |
| Impact wrench | 100 to 110 dB | Under 1 hour unprotected |
| Chainsaw | 110 dB | Minutes |
| Jackhammer | 110 dB | Minutes |
| Live concert | 110 to 120 dB | Minutes |
| Ambulance siren | 120 dB | Seconds |
| Gunshot | 140 to 175 dB | Immediate risk |
Why the numbers are not what they look like
The decibel scale is logarithmic, which trips almost everybody up.
An increase of 10 dB is ten times more sound energy. It sounds roughly twice as loud to a person, but it carries ten times the intensity. So a chainsaw at 110 dB is not “a bit louder” than a mower at 90 dB. It carries one hundred times the sound energy.
Follow that math up to a gunshot and the gap becomes hard to describe in ordinary language. A 160 dB muzzle blast is ten million times the energy of a 90 dB mower.
This is also why safe exposure time collapses so quickly. OSHA allows eight hours at 90 dBA, four hours at 95, two hours at 100, and one hour at 105. NIOSH uses a stricter rule and halves the allowed time for every 3 dB rather than every 5, which puts the safe limit at eight hours for 85 dB and roughly fifteen minutes at 100 dB.
The OSHA decibel chart
OSHA publishes the permitted exposure duration for each level in Table G-16 of 29 CFR 1910.95. This is the table a safety manager is working from.
| Sound level (dBA) | Permitted duration per day |
|---|---|
| 90 | 8 hours |
| 92 | 6 hours |
| 95 | 4 hours |
| 97 | 3 hours |
| 100 | 2 hours |
| 102 | 1.5 hours |
| 105 | 1 hour |
| 110 | 30 minutes |
| 115 | 15 minutes or less |
Two things to notice. The limit halves for every 5 dB, so small increases cost a lot of time. And the table stops at 115, because above that there is no permitted unprotected duration at all.
NIOSH recommends a stricter version: 85 dBA for eight hours, halving for every 3 dB rather than every 5. Under the NIOSH rule, 100 dBA allows about fifteen minutes rather than two hours. Many employers write their programs to the NIOSH figure.
How loud is too loud, without a meter
Three practical tests, none of which require equipment.
The arm’s length test. If you have to raise your voice to be understood by someone standing an arm’s length away, the environment is around 85 dB or higher. That is the action level.
Ringing afterward. Tinnitus following exposure means damage already occurred. It usually fades. The damage underneath it does not always fade with it.
Muffled hearing. If sound seems dull or distant after a shift or a range session, that is a temporary threshold shift. Repeated often enough, temporary becomes permanent.
Most phones will also run a decibel meter app. They are not calibrated instruments and should not be used for compliance, but they are accurate enough to tell you whether you are near 85 dB or well past it.
What does NRR mean
NRR stands for Noise Reduction Rating. It is a number set by the EPA and produced under laboratory testing to ANSI S3.19-1974. Every hearing protector legally sold in the United States carries one.
Here is the part that matters and that most people get wrong: you do not simply subtract the NRR from the noise level.
Laboratory conditions are close to perfect. Real fit is not. The method OSHA uses for A-weighted measurements is to subtract 7 from the NRR first, then subtract the result:
Estimated exposure = noise level in dBA minus (NRR minus 7)
So a 26 NRR earplug in a 100 dBA environment gives you 100 minus (26 minus 7), which is 81 dBA. Under the limit, with margin.
NIOSH goes further and recommends derating in the field: cut the rating by 25 percent for earmuffs, 50 percent for formable foam plugs, and 70 percent for other plug types, to account for imperfect insertion.
None of this is a reason to distrust the number. It is a reason to fit the plug properly, because the rating assumes a real seal and a plug that is not seated is close to no plug at all.
Earplugs vs earmuffs
Neither one wins outright.
Earplugs seal inside the ear canal. They generally reach higher attenuation, they fit under a hard hat and safety glasses without breaking the seal, they are comfortable in heat, and they do not interfere with a rifle stock or a shotgun cheek weld. Their weakness is insertion. A foam plug rolled and inserted incorrectly loses most of its rating.
Earmuffs seal against the side of the head. They are hard to put on wrong, easy to check at a glance, and quick to take on and off. Their weakness is anything that breaks the seal: glasses arms, long hair, a hard hat brim, and heat.
Wearing both does not add the ratings together. Dual protection typically gains about 5 dB over the better of the two devices. It is standard practice for shooting indoors and for the loudest industrial work, and 5 dB is meaningful at those levels, but do not expect 26 plus 25.
What NRR do you actually need
Work back from the exposure.
Under 85 dBA for a shift. Protection is optional. Comfort and communication matter more than the number.
85 to 95 dBA. An NRR in the high teens to low twenties is sufficient. This covers most landscaping, warehouse and general construction work.
95 to 105 dBA. Look for the mid twenties or higher, and fit matters more than the printed number.
Impulse noise, meaning shooting. This is a different problem. You need a rated device with a genuine seal, and indoors, most ranges expect double protection.
One thing to be clear about, because the phrase is everywhere: OSHA does not approve or certify hearing protection. There is no “OSHA approved” product list. What exists is a permissible exposure limit and a requirement that protection be adequate for the measured exposure. A device either carries a tested NRR sufficient for your environment or it does not.
The part the numbers leave out
Adequate attenuation is only half the problem, and the half that gets solved on paper rather than in the field.
The reason people skip hearing protection is almost never that they cannot find a high enough rating. It is that a sealed ear is a liability. You cannot hear a spotter, a backing alarm, a coworker calling your name, a machine starting to sound wrong, or a vehicle behind you. Plenty of experienced people work unprotected for exactly that reason, and they are making a real tradeoff, not a careless one.
The Plugfones Allert is built around that conflict. It is a rated earplug first, 26 dB NRR with foam tips and 21 dB with the ComforTiered silicone tips, tested to ANSI S3.19-1974. The seal does what any rated plug does. AdaptEQ then lets normal sound, including speech, reach you at a usable level while the hazardous noise stays blocked, so you can answer a question without breaking protection to do it. It runs 8 or more hours per charge with about 32 hours total from the case.
Frequently asked questions
How many decibels is a gunshot? Most firearms produce 140 to 175 dB at the shooter’s ear. A standard pistol round is around 160 dB and a .308 rifle can reach 165 dB. Any level at or above 140 dB can cause permanent damage from a single exposure.
What is the OSHA decibel limit? 90 dBA averaged over eight hours, with an action level of 85 dBA that requires a hearing conservation program. OSHA’s Table G-16 halves the permitted duration for every 5 dB above 90.
How loud is a lawn mower? A typical walk behind mower runs around 90 dB, which is at the OSHA permissible exposure limit for a full eight hour shift. Commercial blowers and trimmers usually run higher.
How loud is a chainsaw? Roughly 110 dB. At that level, unprotected exposure should be measured in minutes.
How loud is too loud? As a working rule, if you must raise your voice to be understood by someone an arm’s length away, you are at or above 85 dB and should be wearing protection.
Do earplugs and earmuffs together double the protection? No. Combining them typically gains about 5 dB over whichever device performs better on its own. The ratings do not add.
What NRR do I need? Subtract 7 from the NRR, then subtract that from your noise level in dBA. If the result is below 85, the device is sufficient for that environment.
Are Plugfones for you? Check out some ways you can use Plugfones
Do you find yourself riding down the highway and all you can hear is the sound of the wind whipping around you? Do you work with loud tools or frequent the local shooting range? See some of the ways you can use Plugfones to protect your hearing while enjoying your favorite music.
