not really an but I can understand 120dB being harmful if you get exposed to it for a second but 90dB has to be over a 2 hour time exposure to get hearing loss.
Why is time a factor and what mechanism causes hearing loss upon being exposed to high decibles
In: 2
So, when a soundwave hits your eardrum, it causes little bones to vibrate against your cochlea which has little hairs in it. The vibration of the hairs is what triggers the signal to be sent through your nerves to the brain so that you can hear it.
Those hairs don’t regrow, so if they get vibrated too much and fall out then your hearing gets worse until you run out and are deaf.
So while 90db isn’t particularly traumatic for those hairs, continued exposure to that level of vibration can damage them over time.
Imagine giving a high five. Your hand is fine after one, but if you were to give high fives for 2 hours your hand would be red and swollen. Something that isn’t necessarily damaging for a short period can add up to a lot of damage over time.
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