[topher6345]

My first year of music school, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to the research of Dr. Marshall Chasin - an audiologist in Toronto.

His research on hearing loss, in particular hearing loss of musicians, deserves wide exposure for anyone considering making a career out of using their ears.

From one of his publications I use the following as a rule of thumb:

80db * 40hrs/week = permanent hearing damage

83db * 20hrs/week = permanent hearing damage

86db * 10hrs/week = permanent hearing damage

91db * 5hrs/week = permanent hearing damage

94db * 2.5hrs/week = permanent hearing damage

Further reading from Dr. Chasin: http://www.marshallchasinassociates.ca/hearing_articles.htm

[alok-g]

How to I map db to the volume on a smartphone?

[tim333]

There are apps. I just tried "Decibel Meter" by Xiangyi Liu on my iphone. Free. Seems to work.

Update - just tried it. 90-100db on the tube (Victoria line), 102 when they make announcements, 60db in the park, 25 in my room.