For at least one moment in Sunday’s Saints playoff win, the Dome rumbled as fans roared at a recorded 128 decibels.
Southeastern Communications Professor Joe Burns says it’s a remarkable feat because exposure to any sound over 100-120 Db can be painful, and prolonged exposure can result in damage to your hearing.
“We’re talking about a sound that is almost as loud as a thunder crack at it’s source, so you have to be concerned with that kind of loudness.”
Decibels increase logarithmically, and to put 128 decibels in perspective, the average conversation is 60 decibels, and a chainsaw is about 110. Burns says an acquaintance of his runs sound for Essence Fest, and their maximum sound level sits far below what Saints fans accomplished.
“There’s literally a person from OSHA pulling it down, making sure it doesn’t register over 100 decibels. That football game was 128 decibels. That’s… that’s insane.”
Crowds certainly can impact games, as feeling that 128 decibels at field level, with a helmet on, would be disorienting.
Burns says it’s likely that reported 128 Db was only a momentary spike, and not a prolonged period that could result in hearing damage. Still, if you’re bringing your children to the Rams NFC Championship clash this Sunday, he has a suggestion.
“If I was going to a Saints game, and I was going to be in some of the lower registers, and I had my young children with me, I would put hearing protection on them. But adults? That’s up to you.”
The World Health Organization recommends children not be exposed to any noise above 120 decibels.
Kansascity.com says, "In 2014, Chiefs fans set the Guinness record when the noise at Arrowhead Stadium hit 142.2 decibels, breaking the previous mark of 137.6 decibels that had been set by Seattle fans at CenturyLink Field." Since that time, the Seahawks have still asserted that their fans are the loudest.
Burns says those numbers are questionable because even momentary exposure to 140 Db may result in deafness.
