The Competition aspects of car audio cannot be denied. Should there be mandatory hearing protection required by all participants at any event governed by a sanctioning body, if OSHA limits are exceeded?
Anything over 120db can damage hearing instantly. According to the Occupational Safety and Heath Administration, if the TWA (Time Weighted Average) noise level is exceeding 85 dB(A), a hearing conservation program is required.
OSHA's Permissible Noise Exposure:
90 dB - 8.0 hours
92 dB - 6.0 hours
95 dB - 4.0 hours
97 dB - 3.0 hours
100 dB - 2.0 hours
102 dB - 1.5 hours
105 dB - 1.0 hours
110 dB - 30 minutes
115 dB - 15 minutes
but of course, if we all lived by this, then one would need earplugs to go with a good case of the farts.