Final answer:
A workplace may be considered too noisy if it exceeds 85 dB for 8 hours without hearing protection, leading to potential hearing damage. Exposures to even louder noises can cause immediate and severe damage to one's hearing.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety stipulates environments as being too noisy if sound levels exceed 85 dB for 8-hour daily exposures without hearing protection. Prolonged exposure to such noise levels can lead to hearing damage. For example, being inside a heavy truck or near a siren from 30 meters can be harmful over an 8-hour period. More brief exposures to higher levels of noise, such as a loud rock concert or a pneumatic chipper at 2 meters, can cause damage after only 30 minutes. The threshold for pain often begins near these levels, and extremely loud sounds, like a jet airplane at 30 meters, can cause severe pain and damage in mere seconds, potentially rupturing eardrums. Loudness relates to how energetically the source vibrates, which directly impacts the severity of the noise's impact on hearing health.