It's been bounced around the boards a number of times...

"Do I need to wear hearing protection when I'm driving with my top down, on long trips?"

I decided to gather some data and come to a final conclusion on this topic.

Lets start with the OSHA guidelines for occupational noise exposure. The current regulations state that workers exposed to occupational noise must abide by the following formula.

D = C1/T1 + C2/T2 + CN/TN

where:
D = Daily noise dose (must not exceed unity)
C = Actual exposure time at given noise level.
T = Permissible exposure time at that level in accordance with the table below.

Based on this and a time weighted average (TWA) we can derive an exposure table:



Using this standard as a baseline for

 

Wow, talk about a thorough, well thought out analysis Thank You!

 

Charts and graphs, I thought I was at work.

Seriously, thanks for the effort. I've noticed extended periods on a crowded freeway with the top down wear me out. I attribute it to all the tire noise one is surrounded by. I've thought about trying ear plugs for that situation.

 

Thanks for the great information.

 

One thing I found helps dramatically, top up or down, is to wear a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up. It only really works in cold weather, but it's better than nothing. I was amazed at the difference in the level of noise from the car(lower) and the stereo(louder and clearer).

Tim

 

One of the best topics I've seen so far... Great analysis about something I've always wondered about.

Do you mind if I ask what you do for a living?

 

dang, that was deep yo!

 

From his profile... Audiologist.. figures

 

excellent information!

well done!

 

Yep as PMantis said I'm an Audiologist, went to Purdue for my undergrad and Audiology degrees. Then decided that I wanted to do research and teach instead of practicing. So now I'm at Vanderbilt University two years into my Ph.D. I just finished my course work, did a minor in Electrical Engineering. Which I must say was a bit masochistic. I have two more years of research and teaching the Au.D. students before I expect to be able to defend my dissertation but I'm doing what I enjoy more than anything else so I'm in no hurry to crank out my defense.

In case you care... My research focus is on signal processing algorithms in cochlear implants and hearing aids.