decibel

10 Stories

This Is the Loudest Bird. Just Ask His Girlfriend


Meet the
World's
Loudest
Bird
new study
Oct 22, 2019 10:50 AM CDT

Meet the World's Loudest Bird

The white bellbird hits 125.4 decibels

(Newser) - The male white bellbird has just earned the distinction of being the loudest bird on the planet. Just ask the female white bellbirds—the guys essentially scream in their faces at courting time. In fact, that's one of the surprises from the study. As the researchers delicately put it...

'Pink Noise' Could Save Your Hearing in Car Crash

Mercedes-Benz has been working on this tech for years

(Newser) - A coming safety feature for cars aims to protect drivers and passengers in a novel way: to save their hearing in a crash. The idea is that when a smartcar senses an imminent collision, the sound system sends out a burst of "pink noise" inside the car. That causes...

Kids' Headphones Often Don't Deliver Promised Protection

Website finds trouble with half of 30 tested

(Newser) - If you're on the hunt for children's headphones—so-called because they limit the volume of sound that they emit to protect children's ears—experts are issuing a stern warning: They're not necessarily safe, even if they purport to be. The Wirecutter , a product recommendations site, has...

Mom's Cellphone Ring May Startle Fetus

Ultrasound imaging shows third-trimester babies startling at the sound

(Newser) - While many studies have investigated whether cellphone radiation is harmful, little is known about how the sound of a cellphone ringing might impact a baby in utero. So researchers in New York decided to dig, in part because resident physicians—who regularly use cellphones and beepers at work—seem to...

Scientists Map America's Loudest, Quietest Places
Scientists Map America's Loudest, Quietest Places
in case you missed it
Feb 21, 2015 11:00 AM CST

Scientists Map America's Loudest, Quietest Places

It's part of investigation into how man-made noise affects wildlife

(Newser) - Scientists have put 1.5 million hours of acoustical monitoring to an interesting use: They paired them with data on overhead air traffic and average summer precipitation and turned a computer program loose on the info. The result: a detailed map of America's loudest and quietest places. Science News...

Cows Really Don't Like Cowbells, Study Finds

At 113 decibels, the 12-pound bells can be as loud as chainsaws

(Newser) - Cowbell-clad cows are an iconic part of Swiss culture, but that doesn't mean the cows are happy about it. A new study out of the federal technology institute ETH Zurich studied 100-plus cows over a three-day period at 25 farms. Those who wore cowbells—some of which rang, some...

'Sleep Machines' Can Harm Babies' Hearing
 'Sleep Machines' Can 
 Harm Babies' Hearing 
study says
Mar 3, 2014 2:24 PM CST

'Sleep Machines' Can Harm Babies' Hearing

Parents may not want to use them at top volume: researchers

(Newser) - If you bought a "sleep machine" that makes soothing sounds in an effort to help your baby slumber, be careful: At top volume, such machines can actually hurt infants' hearing, researchers say. Sleep machines, which often emit nature sounds or white noise and sometimes come inside stuffed animals, are...

Say What? Convertibles Harm Hearing

Noise can reach damaging 90 decibels at 50 mph

(Newser) - Tearing down the road in a convertible with the wind whipping at your ears exacts the same kind of hearing damage as listening to a pile driver, scientists warn. Noise from the engine, road, traffic and wind can be as high as 90 decibels at speeds of 50 mph and...

Jamming to the iPod Is Making Us Deaf

A generation of adults will suffer hearing loss well ahead of its time

(Newser) - The popularity of iPods and similar devices may leave a generation of adults with impaired hearing decades ahead of their time, the Boston Globe reports. Sensory cells in the ear can only take so much bombardment, and frequent, pulsing music causes irreparable damage. New research also shows that boys often...

Shhh! Europe Law Forces Orchestras to Tone It Down

Noise legislation means musicians are playing musical chairs, the real game

(Newser) - A new law in Europe to protect employees from ear-damaging noises is stifling a surprise industry—orchestras. Conductors are taking it down a notch to comply, in one case canceling a world premiere because it exceeded the allowable decibels in rehearsal, the New York Times reports. At the Royal Opera...

10 Stories