Posted: 9/20/2009 4:26:38 PM EDT
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Okay I may be slightly slow or something but I have a question. If I were to put in ear plugs that are rated at 16dB reduction and wear ear muffs rated at 20 dB reduction, would the total reduction in dB be 16+20 or 36dB? Or some odd combination? |
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Quoted:
Okay I may be slightly slow or something but I have a question. If I were to put in ear plugs that are rated at 16dB reduction and wear ear muffs rated at 20 dB reduction, would the total reduction in dB be 16+20 or 36dB? Or some odd combination? The protection rating is not linear so no, it doesn't work that way. It's a logarithmic ~roughly the way hearing works. A 10x increase in sound energy produces an increase of 10db 100x increase in energy increases the db measurement by 20 41db is 10,000 the energy of 1db So, ideally 33db rated plugs + 33db rated muffs might give you 36db protection. OSHA rates it differently, suggesting that you consider the total protection at 5db better than the higher rated device. Here's a decent article -but I suggest it is very conservative (unwise) to apply workplace considerations to high-volume/frequent shooting. http://tiny.cc/KD3H4 Considering 150-165db+ sound levels, you can't be too well protected from centerfire rifle noise. If you shoot from cover, under a roof/ceiling, in a shoothouse = outrageous sound levels. |
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Quoted: Awesome, thanks for the explanation. That makes sense that it's logarithmic since it's decibels. I didn't even consider that. I'm just trying to figure out a way to be more comfortable while shooting under steel or indoors. Quoted: Okay I may be slightly slow or something but I have a question. If I were to put in ear plugs that are rated at 16dB reduction and wear ear muffs rated at 20 dB reduction, would the total reduction in dB be 16+20 or 36dB? Or some odd combination? The protection rating is not linear so no, it doesn't work that way. It's a logarithmic ~roughly the way hearing works. A 10x incr... |