headphones or headsets (headphones
plus microphone) as aviation
communication equipment as they are
not engineered for many environmental
conditions common in commercial or
non-commercial aircraft (including, but
not limited to: altitude, temperature,
noise conditions, unpressurized aircraft,
etc.) resulting in possible interference to
critical communications.
The Occupational Safety Health
Administration (OSHA) has issued
headphone usage recommendations
for maximum daily exposure and sound
pressure levels (measured in decibels
(dB)). A decibel is a unit of measure
of sound, and decibels increase
exponentially as sound gets louder.
For example, conversational speech
is typically around 60dB, and a rock
concert in
a stadium is often about 110dB.
OSHA GUIDELINES FOR NOISE EXPOSURE
LIMITS
Sound
Pressure
Level
90dB
92dB
95dB
97dB
100dB
102dB
105dB
110dB
115dB
120dB
Recommended
Maximum Exposure
Per Day
8 Hours
6 Hours
4 Hours
3 Hours
2 Hours
1.5 Hours
1 Hours
30 Minutes
15 Minutes or less
Avoid as damage
may occur