Hearing -120db and lower

[ShiZo]

Here you go: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/dynamic-range-how-quiet-is-quiet.14/

lol thanks, sorry I didn't find that earlier.

 

[Kvalsvoll]

Is it even possible?

This experiment can easily turn into a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as your hearing fades away when playing that 120dB tone you need to get 120dB above threshold of hearing (before the damage occured..) at 0dB.

It depends on threshold - how loud minimum spl is needed to hear anything, and how masking from the loud sound works, part from the maximum limit before damage to hearing occurs.

In a reasonably quiet room, with background noise in the 20-40dB range, you may be able to hear a continuous tone at around 0 dB. A transient sound at low frequencies can easily reach 120dB before it gets very uncomfortable. If two continuous tone are playing simultaneously, the louder 120dB will mask the 0dB, so you can not hear the quiet tone. But time is the clue here - a loud, transient sound will mask the quiet tone, but after some time, you will again hear the quiet tone. But 120dB dynamic range is huge, there are no recordings with anything close to that dynamic range, even 100dB is well beyond limits of any acoustic recording.

Still, it makes sense to have 120dB dynamic range - being able to play 120dB, while having no audible noise when no music is playing. Transients at lower frequencies easily reach beyond 120dB peak level when you turn up the volume on a capable system.

 

[solderdude]

Hearing limit is frequency dependent.

We don't really hear in dB SPL but in Phon.
0dB SPL is not the bottom hearing limit for young individuals 0Phon is.
One can actually hear below 0dB SPL as 0dB SPL is not '0 sound pressure'.
Human dynamic range when listening to test tones is higher than when listening to music.
With music the dynamic range is about 70-80dB.
The hearing has kind of an automatic gain control and because of this the dynamic range is considered about 120dB and why 120dB is still something to aim for at least in the noise department. For the distortion part -120dB is not really needed but technically possible to achieve.
It never hurts to be on the safe side.

OP can peruse THIS site it has lots of useful info and calculators

 

[RayDunzl]

The chart is a bit hard to decode, but somebody went out and measured both male and female mosquito SPL at the fundamental and harmonics of their wing-beating...

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/content/part/JAMCA/JAMCA_V10_N2_P302-308.pdf

 

[solderdude]

whether or not one can hear a mosquito depends on how quiet the room is and the distance to the ear.
The mentioned SPL values seem to be measured at 3cm so at 1m it is already below 0dB SPL.

 

[Tks]

Of course it's possible, Rob Watts makes that look like childsplay, the man is hearing -300db artifacts.

(There sure has been quite a few threads recently that bait me in always mentioning this claim of his...)

 

[Wes]

Oh - I see - your OP is limited to humans...


Well, The human with the best hearing in the world does not live anywhere near an electrical outlet.

 

[ShiZo]

Oh - I see - your OP is limited to humans...


Well, The human with the best hearing in the world does not live anywhere near an electrical outlet.

Are you speaking of hunter-gatherers or something?

 

[Wes]

yes

 

[mansr]

What is the absolute limit to human hearing?

Oh, human. I thought we might be talking about Rob Watts.

 

[ShiZo]

lmao, we need some rob watts memes to go along with these jokes.

 

[RayDunzl]

lmao, we need some rob watts memes to go along with these jokes.

Rob Watts can still hear Chuck Norris.

(I'm too lazy to find a picture)

 

[Human Bass]

If you are in a very quiet place, -120db can very well be the sound of your blood flowing, your digestive system making minor moves and such. You would go crazy.

 

[Wes]

at some level (have it in lecture notes but don't recall) you will hear noise from air molecules bouncing off the ear drum