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How loud is too loud for headphones, and for kids?

Personal music players can produce over 100 dBA at the ear. A safe week of listening depends on level: at 80 dBA, 40 hours; at 95 dBA, barely more than one.

How loud headphones get

Headphones at full volume: 80–115 dBA, at the ear (free-field equivalent). Earbuds at full volume: 115.5–120 dBA, in the ear canal (measured in an ear coupler). In the EU, music players must default to an exposure of 85 dBA and warn the user before allowing up to 100 dBA1. Elsewhere there is no legal cap.

A weekly sound allowance

The WHO and ITU safe listening standard (H.870) treats listening as a weekly budget: the sound energy of 80 dB for 40 hours a week for adults, or 75 dB for 40 hours in the more protective mode meant for children2. Phones that follow it count your exposure and warn you when the week’s budget is used.

Average level at the ear (adults)Weekly allowance
80 dBA40 h
83 dBA20 h
86 dBA10 h
89 dBA5 h
92 dBA2 h 30 min
95 dBA1 h 15 min
98 dBA38 min
Average level at the ear (children)Weekly allowance
75 dBA40 h
78 dBA20 h
81 dBA10 h
84 dBA5 h
87 dBA2 h 30 min
90 dBA1 h 15 min
93 dBA38 min

Calculated from the WHO weekly allowance with the 3 dB equal-energy rule.

Children

Workplace limits were never meant for children, whose exposure can add up over many more years. WHO-ITU safe listening devices use a stricter children's reference of 75 dB for 40 hours a week (adults 80 dB). Lab tests of six children's 'volume-limited' headphones found most limited only softly, and some could exceed the 85 dB(A) safe-listening level when driven by a laptop or CD player. Toy standards based on ISO 8124-1 limit close-to-the-ear toys to 65 dB LAeq and 95 dB C-weighted peak (2010 and later editions).3 Volume-limited headphones help, but only if the limit is real and the child cannot bypass it with a different device. Noise-cancelling headphones help most on planes and trains, where children turn the volume up to drown out the engine.

Practical rules

  • Turn on your phone’s headphone safety or volume limit feature.
  • If someone an arm’s length away can hear your music, it is probably above 85 dBA at your ear.
  • Prefer noise-cancelling or well-sealed earphones over turning the volume up against background noise.
  • Take breaks; ringing or dull hearing afterwards means it was too loud.

Questions

What volume is safe for headphones?

Below about 80 dBA at the ear you can listen for around 40 hours a week (WHO). Each 3 dB louder halves that time.

Are kids’ volume-limited headphones safe?

They lower the risk, but check the limit actually holds with the child’s device, and still limit listening time: the WHO allowance for children is lower than for adults.

Sources

  1. After Commission Decision 2009/490/EC, the European safety standards (EN 60065 / EN 60950-1 with the EN 50332 measurement method) require personal music players to warn the user above a default of 85 dB(A) and cap the maximum output at 100 dB(A). The decision itself sets the principle: 80 dB(A) for 40 hours a week or 89 dB(A) for 5 hours a week.
  2. The WHO-ITU safe listening standard (H.870, 2019) has devices track a weekly 'sound allowance' against a reference of 80 dB for 40 hours a week for adults and 75 dB for 40 hours a week for children. WHO says over 1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss from unsafe listening, and its 2022 Global Standard for Safe Listening Venues and Events sets a maximum average sound level of 100 decibels.
    • Safe listening devices and systems: a WHO-ITU standard, World Health Organization.Mode 1 for adults: 80 dB for 40 hours per week.Mode 2 for children: 75 dB for 40 hours per week.Dosimetry function: The personal audio device will include software that tracks the level and duration of the user’s exposure to sound as a percentage used of a reference exposure, also known as a user’s “sound allowance”.Checked 2026-11-02.
    • Deafness and hearing loss: Safe listening (Q&A), World Health Organization.For example, you can safely listen to a sound level of 80dB for up to 40 hours a week. If the sound level is 90dB, the safe listening time reduces to four hours per week.Checked 2026-11-02.
    • New WHO-ITU standard aims to prevent hearing loss among 1.1 billion young people, World Health Organization.Nearly 50% of people aged 12-35 years – or 1.1 billion young people – are at risk of hearing loss due to prolonged and excessive exposure to loud sounds, including music they listen to through personal audio devices.Checked 2026-11-02.
    • Make Listening Safe, World Health Organization.More than 1 billion young people (12–35 years old) are at risk of hearing loss due to recreational exposure to loud sound.Checked 2026-11-02.
    • WHO releases new standard to tackle rising threat of hearing loss, World Health Organization.(1) a maximum average sound level of 100 decibelsChecked 2026-11-02.
    • Deafness and hearing loss (fact sheet), World Health Organization.Over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.Checked 2026-11-02.
  3. WHO-ITU safe listening devices use a stricter children's reference of 75 dB for 40 hours a week (adults 80 dB). Lab tests of six children's 'volume-limited' headphones found most limited only softly, and some could exceed the 85 dB(A) safe-listening level when driven by a laptop or CD player. Toy standards based on ISO 8124-1 limit close-to-the-ear toys to 65 dB LAeq and 95 dB C-weighted peak (2010 and later editions).

General information, not medical advice. For any concern about your hearing or a child’s, see an audiologist or doctor.