0

Threshold of hearing

Very soft sound

10

Barely audible

Radio station / studio

20

Rustling of leaves

20

Country home

30

 Very quiet

Soft Whisper at 5 feet

30

Provincial Indoor Bedroom
Criteria For Road Noise

40

A Reasonably Quiet Bedroom

Public library

40

Quiet

Quiet office or living room

40

Provincial Indoor Living Room
Criteria For Road Noise

45

A Reasonably Quiet Living Room

Moderate rainfall

50

Speech interference

Inside average urban home

50

Quiet street

50

Washing machine

47 to 73

Light car traffic at 50 feet

55

Provincial Outdoor Objective for New Outdoor Living Areas

55

A Reasonably Quiet Backyard in an Urban Area

Normal conversation at 3 feet

60

Intrusive

Noisy office

60

Typical Objective For Retrofit
Sound Barriers Along Roadways

60

Maximum Allowable Objective for New Residential Backyards

Noisy Restaurant

70

Telephone use difficult

Loud singing at 3 feet

75

Coffee mill

75 to 79

Traffic at 50 feet

78 to 95

Busy traffic intersection

80

Electric Typewriter

80

Electric lawn edger

81

Typical Objective for Occupational Noise in The Work Place

85

Potential Hearing damage (8 hrs.)

Bus or heavy truck at 50 feet

88 to 94

Very annoying

Jackhammer

88 to 98

Loud shout

90

Freight train at 50 feet

95

Modified motorcycle

95

Jet taking off at 2000 feet

100

Amplified rock music

110

Maximum vocal effort

Jet taking off at 200 feet

120

Threshold of pain

Air-raid siren

130