Live events like concerts and stadium sports can be incredibly loud, sometimes risking permanent hearing damage. But what about the loudest sound ever recorded on Earth? The answer varies based on how we define “sound” and whether we look at historical or modern records.
One of the loudest sounds in history comes from the 1883 eruption of Krakatau, a volcano in Indonesia. This eruption was heard over 1,900 miles away, with barometers worldwide detecting its pressure waves. It’s estimated that the sound reached around 170 decibels 100 miles from the source, high enough to cause hearing damage. Reports from sailors nearby described the blast as strong enough to burst eardrums.
For context, most people can tolerate sounds up to around 140 decibels. Beyond that, sounds become painful. Prolonged exposure to just 85 decibels can lead to hearing damage. For instance, a vacuum cleaner registers about 75 decibels, while a jet engine can reach 140 decibels.
Modern estimates suggest the Krakatau blast may have reached around 310 decibels. At such levels, sound waves don’t behave normally; they begin to act like shock waves. The force was so potent that it circled the globe seven times.
However, experts like Michael Vorländer, a professor in acoustics, emphasize the uncertainty in these estimates. “No one was close enough to measure it accurately,” he noted.
Another strong contender for the title of the loudest sound is the 1908 Tunguska explosion in Siberia. This blast flattened vast areas and created shock waves that traveled worldwide. Estimates suggest it was as loud as the Krakatau eruption, recorded at around 300 to 315 decibels, but again, measurements were taken far from the source.
In more recent times, the January 2022 eruption of Hunga in Tonga is key. David Fee, a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, believes it’s the loudest in the modern era, felt by people in places as far away as Alaska and Central Europe. According to Milton Garces, who leads the Infrasound Laboratory at the University of Hawaii, the sound pressure recorded nearby reached about 1,800 pascals. While trying to put this into decibels can be misleading, initial calculations suggest it could be around 256 decibels. But this isn’t a conventional sound wave — its dynamics were unique due to its sheer scale.
Interestingly, recent experiments have demonstrated that sound waves can exceed 270 decibels in controlled environments, like using a laser to create pressure in water. However, these types of sound are inaudible to humans as they occur in a vacuum. Garces pointed out that sound requires a medium to travel, and pressures in a vacuum don’t produce “sound” as we traditionally understand it.
In summary, the quest for the loudest sound reveals much about the power of nature and our efforts to measure it. The eruption of Krakatau stands tall in history, but modern science continues to push the boundaries of what we know about sound.
