Introduction: Can Sound Really Kill You?
This one question that was sent to me a month ago has been stuck on my mind ever since. It’s something I really never thought of until this person asked, “Hey, Bloc, how much loud can kill you?” I’m putting grammatical errors aside here, people. I get what they’re trying to ask. We’re going to explore this question soundly for this episode. Eardrum roll, please. Thank you, Triangle Bob.
How We Hear Sounds
Hey there, welcome to Life Noggin! The world is full of sound, like Grey’s Anatomy; it’s always happening. But could a sound be so loud that it actually sends you to the great beyond? First things first, let’s break down how we hear things.
Sounds are made when objects vibrate, and they travel through the air, or any medium, as a wave. The visible portion of your outer ear, called the pinna, collects these sound waves and sends them down the ear canal, where they come into contact with the eardrum. The waves vibrate the eardrum, moving the teeny tiny bones in your middle ear, known as the ossicles, which amplify the sound.
The sound waves then enter your inner ear and travel to the cochlea, which contains a fluid that moves in response to the vibrations, and 25,000 nerve endings that translate the vibrations into electrical impulses. These impulses then travel along the auditory nerve to the brain. Isn’t that fascinating?
How Loud Sounds Can Cause Hearing Loss
This is how you hear everything from the soft rustling of leaves in the wind, the incredible musical stylings of Chapel Rone, to the roar of a very loud jet engine. Though these sounds certainly have different effects on your hearing, loud sounds can damage certain components in your ear, especially the hair cells in the cochlea.
These cells ride the waves created by the vibrations and bend when they come into contact with the top of the structure. This is what creates the electrical signals that are sent to your brain. But louder sounds cause more movement and bending, which can damage and even kill the cells, resulting in hearing loss. This can happen quickly if the sound is loud enough, or over time with repeated or prolonged exposure.
Sound Intensity and Decibels
Sounds are rated by their intensity, which is measured in decibels on a logarithmic scale. That means that the intensity grows really fast as you go up the scale. Things like breathing, at 10 dB, and talking, at 60 dB, don’t harm you at all. Damage isn’t caused until you’re listening to an 80 dB sound like a leaf blower for over an hour. But anything above 100 dB can cause hearing loss since, due to the logarithmic scale, 100 decibels is 1 billion times more powerful compared to 10 dB.
So, a car horn blaring 5 m away at 100 dB could result in hearing loss after 15 minutes, and someone shouting directly in your ear at 110 dB would cause hearing loss in less than 2 minutes. Standing next to sirens at 120 dB, a jet engine at 140 dB, or firecrackers at 150 dB would immediately cause hearing loss, not to mention pain.
The Deadly Effects of Extreme Sound Levels
But here’s where it gets pretty gruesome: according to researchers, at about 175 dB, your eardrums would burst, and anything over 210 decibels would cause your lungs to rupture, and you to, um, well, die. But to reach that level, you need to be next to an insanely loud sound, and even the world’s loudest rocket engine only reaches 204 dB.
The Impact of Infrasound on the Body
But even sounds that you can’t hear can affect you, depending on the intensity, frequency, and exposure time. Infrasound has been found to affect the central nervous, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems, resulting in things like loss of concentration and alertness, depression, and vibration of internal organs. Woo, um, well, that is alarming.
Outro and Call for Music Recommendations
I think I’ll go search for a soundless place now, someplace quiet to meditate. Actually, that would mean I’m alone with my own thoughts, so never mind. Actually, let’s try something more fun. Let’s hear some nice sounds! Name an album or song you can’t stop listening to. I want some good music recommendations, people. Let me know in the comments.
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And as always, my name is Blocko. This has been Life Noggin. Don’t forget to keep on thinking.
Sources for this video:
https://dosits.org/science/sound/what…
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healt…
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/how-…
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss…
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/how-…
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4159…
https://scienceandglobalsecurity.org/…
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/2…
https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/sites/defau…
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