How Loud Are Car Alarms?

I was shopping so my hands were full, and a car alarm went off next to where I was parked. I was exposed for about 15 seconds. I could feel the inside of my ears vibrating and my T has got worse which has made me worried it was so high pitched and loud, much louder than a horn. But it just seemed like a standard UK car alarm.

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

They can hit 125db, but, decibel dropoff by distance is exponential, so even being a few feet away from the source cuts that dramatically.

I'd say that next time this happens you might want to plug your ears with your fingers if possible, but I wouldn't be worried about this brief exposure doing actual damage. If it worries you, you could load up on NAC/magnesium/antibiotics.

 

125 db?!? Didn't think it would be that loud! I have some magnesium so I'll take some of that.

 

That appears to be the absolute upper limit for units specifically sold as extremely loud. I would imagine that typical alarms are more like 90-110.

 

Ah I see, this was definitely a manufacturers standard alarm, but it may be different in the UK? I can't seem to find much information. if it's 110db then I guess that's not too bad as it was a short exposure.