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Is a sound level of 105 decibels for a few seconds enough to rupture a person's eardrum? (lemm.ee)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.ca
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In 2022, a Texas family filed a lawsuit against Apple for damaging their son's hearing after an Amber Alert went off while he was wearing Airpods. According to Google, the maximum volume of phone headphones is around 105 decibels. The family are claiming that the son now requires hearing aids after his eardrum ruptured.

Is this plausible?

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[โ€“] 22 points 2 years ago (2 children)

it's worth keeping in mind that dB fall off very quickly over distance and having a jackhammer right up next to your ear is different from passing a few feet beside it

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  • [โ€“] 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    Yes that's why dB measurements are always done in open air from 1 meter distance.

    edit: Headphone measurements are obviously different and are optimally measured at the distance the eardrum sits from the speaker element, with similar encasing as the headphone model offers. For In-ear, it's a very low distance and a high level of encasing. Airpods will obviously not make 105 dB at 1 meter.

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