How long can I have my car windows down when listening to music very loud?

AARONN

MEMBER
2004 TOYOTA COROLLA
90,500 MILES

I am asking because I read if you have music over 100 decibels for more then 15 minutes it can give permanent hearing damage. With the wind noise, traffic noise, and my radio volume, I feel like my music is at or above 100 decibels when I listen extremely loud to music in my car. I got this information from an article on the internet and I am not so sure if it is true or not. This is the article: https://www.helpingmehear.com/hearing-loss-articles/drive-with-the-windows-open-your-hearing-may-be-at-risk/

1 Reply

SQM

MECHANIC
6,383 POSTS

Hello,

Noise at a high level can permanent damage to hearing regardless of the source. Whether its from a stereo or in a noisy factory or at a concert.
You can listen to sounds at 70 dBa or lower without any issues. It really starts to get damaging when you pass the 85 dBa and over 100 dBa can damage much faster if listen to it for a long period of time. It's all about the length of exposure to the sound.

Hope this answers your question.
Thank you.

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