In a word, no.

By Rohima Badri, Ph.D.

Low frequency noises when presented at high intensity and longer duration can become as damaging as the high frequency noises.

High frequency sounds are easier for our ears to detect, which is why they often seem louder than low frequency sounds. However, low frequency noises can still cause hearing damage, even if it doesn’t seem as intense.

In other words, just because we perceive low frequency sounds less easily doesn’t mean they still can’t damage our hearing over time and/or at a high intensity.

Also, it is important to note that their is a dearth of awareness/research studies when compared with research investigating high frequency noise-induced hearing loss. Of the existing studies, the majority (both in animals and humans) show the damaging effects of low frequency noise on our hearing.

Most interestingly, and often less discussed, is how low frequency noise on prolonged exposure damages both high and low frequency regions of the inner ear.

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In the paper “Degeneration in the Cochlea After Noise Damage: Primary Versus Secondary Events,” published in the American Journal of Otology in August 2020, scientists using the chinchilla model showed that low frequency noise not only damaged a broad region of the cochlea that responds to low frequency sounds— but they also found that continued exposure to low frequency noise damaged the high frequency region in the cochlea.

The authors from the Washington University School of Medicine wrote that cochlear damage from low frequency sounds became “indistinguishable” from that resulting from exposure to high frequency noise.

That is probably why authors Karlsson K, Lindquist PG, and Olaussen T., while investigating the hearing of symphony orchestra musicians, saw a “30 decibel left ear threshold increase for double bass players in the 4000-8000 frequency range.” This means they had worse hearing in their left ear, by about 30 decibels, in the range that includes high-pitched sounds. Bass players can show threshold shifts at higher frequencies. (Citation to come.)

Low frequency noise exposure not only causes damage to our hearing but also to other factors beyond hearing loss, such as “sleep disorders, discomfort, sensitivity to and irritability from noise, annoyance, hearing loss, and cardiovascular diseases,” Portuguese researchers noted. Their paper, “Low Frequency Noise and Its Main Effects on Human Health—A Review of the Literature Between 2016 and 2019, was published in the journal Applied Sciences in July 2020.

The awareness and research focus that high frequency noise receives is sadly missing for low frequency noise. Many people with low frequency hearing loss due to noise exposure are not diagnosed due to a lack of sensitivity in detecting low frequency noise-induced hearing loss, as reported in the 2024 Trends in Hearing paper “Sensitivity of Methods for Diagnosing Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Cases of Exposures Including Intense Low Frequency Noise.”

So there are no safe loud sounds. Any sound, high frequency or low frequency, when it exceeds the established limits, can becoming damaging very quickly and/or over time.

Our information is based on evidence-based research studies and scholarly articles that support the adverse effects of both intense and chronic high and low frequency noises on our hearing.

As hearing damage from both high and low frequencies is permanent but preventable, we advise our community to prioritize a “better safe than sorry” approach by practicing safe listening: lower the volume, use ear protection, take quiet breaks, and limit exposures to loud sounds of any frequency.

Based in New Jersey, Rohima Badri, Ph.D., is an adviser for Hearing Health Foundation’s Keep Listening prevention campaign. She has written about instilling healthy hearing habits at home, raising awareness about noise-induced hearing loss, and taking steps to create a culture shift in young people around protecting hearing.