What Is a Safe Noise Level for the Public, Redux?

Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

The Quiet Coalition’s Chair, Dr. Daniel Fink, was invited to write a blog post for the American Public Health Association, expanding material covered in his January 2017 editorial in the Americal Journal of Public Health titled, “What Is a Safe Noise Level for the Public?” Dr. Fink believes that when government agencies don’t set clear standards for public noise exposure, citizens must learn about this themselves and take steps to avoid noise exposure to prevent hearing loss. He was appalled to discover that there is no federal recommendation for noise exposure for the public, so he made it his mission to determine a safe noise exposure level. After reviewing medical literature on noise and hearing loss, Dr. Fink concluded that the only safe noise exposure level to prevent hearing loss is a surprising low 70 decibels time-weighted average for 24 hours (equivalent noise doses are 75 decibels average for 8 hours, or 85 decibels for only one hour). Click the first link to learn about how Dr. Fink reached his determination.