• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
The loudest sound in the world would kill you if you heard it

Home> News> Science

Published 16:51 24 May 2024 GMT+1

The loudest sound in the world would kill you if you heard it

The loudest sound ever recorded could have been fatal if you were close enough

Lucy Devine

Lucy Devine

It's pretty unnerving to think there's a sound out there that's so loud, it could actually kill you.

Of course, a sound that's loud enough to cause fatal harm is very rare. However, the loudest noise ever recorded was actually loud enough to kill - if you were close enough to it.

It occurred on 27 August 1883 when the Krakatoa volcano erupted in Indonesia.

The loudest noise ever recorded was loud enough to cause serious harm. (Getty Stock Photo)
The loudest noise ever recorded was loud enough to cause serious harm. (Getty Stock Photo)

Advert

It totally destroyed the island and created the loudest noise ever to be recorded at a whopping 180 dB.

Not only was this, of course, incredibly loud, but it released a force equivalent to that of a 200-mega-ton bomb.

At a 100 miles away at a gasworks in Jakarta, the sound was measured at 172 decibels.

Meanwhile, sailors on a ship some 40 miles from the explosion had their eardrums burst from the event.

The sound was so loud that it was even heard 3,000 miles away. In fact, at a farm in Alice Springs in Australia - a huge 2,233 miles away - sheep farmers heard what they thought were shots from a rifle.

Advert

Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia. (Getty Stock Photo)
Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia. (Getty Stock Photo)

It's also widely reported that the sound managed to travel around the world a number of times.

Although there are no reports of people actually hearing the explosion further than 3,000 miles away, publication 538 explains that there were 'spikes of atmospheric pressure' in the likes of Canada, England and Russia.

It's thought the pressure was waves of sound from the explosion, rippling around the globe.

According to DecibelPro, anything over 150dB can potentially cause life-threatening problems to humans.

Advert

The site explains: "Sounds above 150 dB have the potential of causing life-threatening issues.

Anything over 150dB can potentially cause life-threatening problems. (Getty Stock Photo)
Anything over 150dB can potentially cause life-threatening problems. (Getty Stock Photo)

"Sounds between 170-200 dB are so intense that they can cause lethal issues like pulmonary embolisms, pulmonary contusions, or even burst lungs. As for exploding heads, you can expect that from sounds above 240 dB."

The experts explain that the pressure from high decibel sounds can act like a wave, passing through our bodies.

"Sound is a wave of pressure that acts just like an actual wave. It can move through both solids and liquids and pass through our bodies as well," they explain.

Advert

"If the pressure buildup is high enough, it can cause damage to our eardrums and internal organs.

"A loud sound can build up enough pressure to cause the eardrum or even internal organs to rupture or explode."

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images

Topics: Science, Health

Lucy Devine
Lucy Devine

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
10 hours ago
12 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    Elon Musk urges release of Epstein files weeks after accusing Trump of being involved in fiery X rant

    Musk made a bombshell claim about his former 'first buddy'

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Arne Slot releases emotional statement after Diogo Jota tragically dies aged 28

    The Liverpool forward and his brother died this morning

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Mum says picture of her son at nursery saved his life after camera flash revealed rare disease

    Laura Davies, from Wales, says she would have 'never known' without the photo

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Brit, 29, who fell ill moments after getting tattoo on hen do fighting for life in coma

    Poppy-Mae Crutchley began to feel unwell 'instantly' after she got the inking in the Spanish party hotspot

    News
  • What happened to man who survived only minutes in the loudest room in the world
  • 'Scariest sound of the world' was final thing people heard before they were murdered
  • Man revealed what he heard whilst in coma that left him requiring world-first face transplant
  • Everything that would happen to you if you stopped blinking for a few hours