| Source of sound | Sound pressure level (dB) |
| Shockwave (distorted sound waves > 1 atm; waveform valleys are clipped at zero pressure) | >194 dB |
| Theoretical limit for undistorted sound at 1 atmosphere environmental pressure | ~194.094 dB |
| Stun grenades | 170 - 180 dB |
| Rocket launch equipment acoustic tests | ~165 dB |
| Simple open-ended thermoacoustic device[6] | 176 dB |
| .30-06 rifle being fired 1 m to shooter's side | 171 dB (peak) |
| M1 Garand rifle being fired at 1 m | 168 dB |
| Jet engine at 30 m | 150 dB |
| Threshold of pain | 130 dB |
| Vuvuzela horn at 1 m | 120 dB |
| Hearing damage (possible) | approx. 120 dB |
| Jet engine at 100 m | 110 - 140 dB |
| Jack hammer at 1 m | approx. 100 dB |
| Traffic on a busy roadway at 10 m | 80 - 90 dB |
| Hearing damage (over long-term exposure, need not be continuous) | 85 dB[8] |
| Passenger car at 10 m | 60 - 80 dB |
| EPA-identified maximum to protect against hearing loss and other disruptive effects from noise, such as sleep disturbance, stress, learning detriment, etc. | 70 dB |
| Handheld electric mixer | 65 dB |
| TV (set at home level) at 1 m | approx. 60 dB |
| Washing machine, dish washer | 50-53 dB |
| Normal conversation at 1 m | 40 - 60 dB |
| Very calm room | 20 - 30 dB |
| Light leaf rustling, calm breathing | 10 dB |
| Auditory threshold at 1 kHz | 0 dB |