Retl 
[@Background Pony \#FAEE](/images/3283092#comment_10800118)
Do you have a link to the paper?I could potentially see this being the case if one were specifically trying to optimize the balloon pop for noise. Since larger balloons would be bassier and not perceived as loud, and smaller balloons have less surface area to vibrate the air with.
The sound of firearms tends to penetrate walls and be more easily heard, plus the object being shot will also cause a secondary loud noise.
I do not think a casual balloon bursting during a normal party situation would ever reach the same decibels as the average firearm used in the same context.
I did find this article, which may be the one you're referring to:
```
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.3961694/audiologist-warns-that-a-balloon-pop-can-be-louder-than-a-gun-1.3961709#:~:text=BH%3A%20The%20average%20that%20we%20got%20for%20the%20%27right%2Dto%2Dexhaustion%27%20next%20to%20the%20microphone%20was%20168%20decibels.%20It%27s%20about%204%20decibels%20higher%20than%20a%2012%2Dgauge%20shotgun%2C%20measured%20in%20a%20different%20study.
```
But
A: The author establishes that they were intentionally trying to get it as loud as possible, despite the average figure.
B: They do not cite the source of the study they refer to for their shotgun volume measurement. It's highly likely that the proximity and the context of the measurement for shotguns was not the same.
C: The values they're reporting are very near the maximum limit of most impulse volume measurement tools from 2018, and the report in particular is dated 2017. It's more likely that the accuracy of their tools is nearing the limit threshold, such that the volume differences between these things would be difficult to reliably measure.
"It should be noticed that this figure of 164.5 dB approaches the practical limit of impulse noise measurement capability inherent in most modern sound level meters." - Approx 2020 via Wayback machine. See citation 1.
"Type 2 noise dosimeters and sound level meters tend to max out around 140-146 dB SPL." - 2018 See citation 2.
```https://earinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Gunfire-Noise-Level-Chart-EAR-Customized-Hearing-Flyer.pdf```
```https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2018/07/18/impulse-noise/```
To be clear, I think parties can certainly be safer. But if you're having kids at a birthday party blow to pop large-rated balloons within inches of other's ears, I have *several* questions about what kind of party you're hosting. That's not the kind of noise one would get from grocery store packet of party decor.
--
Regarding luna's husbando's comment though, yes, I have. And I was balloon phobic at the time. I stabbed them in the back of their neck with a Pilot Precise pen for their trouble. I regret doing it and it sure made my last few years of school kind of a pain to avoid getting any worse disciplinary trouble for it. But none of the other students there tease me for it afterwards, and eventually I learned better coping and protection strategies for dealing with being startled.
So like, I _sympathize_ with people who have a hard time with this kind of thing, or have traumatizing youth memories associated with it, but I don't think "a balloon pop is louder than a shotgun" is going to convince anyone to take the proposal seriously. It'd probably make more sense to simply ask the party participants ahead of time how loud they're comfortable with a party being, not having balloons at all of the noise or breakage is a concern, etc. Not a one size fits all thing.
Do you have a link to the paper?I could potentially see this being the case if one were specifically trying to optimize the balloon pop for noise. Since larger balloons would be bassier and not perceived as loud, and smaller balloons have less surface area to vibrate the air with.
The sound of firearms tends to penetrate walls and be more easily heard, plus the object being shot will also cause a secondary loud noise.
I do not think a casual balloon bursting during a normal party situation would ever reach the same decibels as the average firearm used in the same context.
I did find this article, which may be the one you're referring to:
```
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.3961694/audiologist-warns-that-a-balloon-pop-can-be-louder-than-a-gun-1.3961709#:~:text=BH%3A%20The%20average%20that%20we%20got%20for%20the%20%27right%2Dto%2Dexhaustion%27%20next%20to%20the%20microphone%20was%20168%20decibels.%20It%27s%20about%204%20decibels%20higher%20than%20a%2012%2Dgauge%20shotgun%2C%20measured%20in%20a%20different%20study.
```
But
A: The author establishes that they were intentionally trying to get it as loud as possible, despite the average figure.
B: They do not cite the source of the study they refer to for their shotgun volume measurement. It's highly likely that the proximity and the context of the measurement for shotguns was not the same.
C: The values they're reporting are very near the maximum limit of most impulse volume measurement tools from 2018, and the report in particular is dated 2017. It's more likely that the accuracy of their tools is nearing the limit threshold, such that the volume differences between these things would be difficult to reliably measure.
"It should be noticed that this figure of 164.5 dB approaches the practical limit of impulse noise measurement capability inherent in most modern sound level meters." - Approx 2020 via Wayback machine. See citation 1.
"Type 2 noise dosimeters and sound level meters tend to max out around 140-146 dB SPL." - 2018 See citation 2.
```https://earinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Gunfire-Noise-Level-Chart-EAR-Customized-Hearing-Flyer.pdf```
```https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2018/07/18/impulse-noise/```
To be clear, I think parties can certainly be safer. But if you're having kids at a birthday party blow to pop large-rated balloons within inches of other's ears, I have *several* questions about what kind of party you're hosting. That's not the kind of noise one would get from grocery store packet of party decor.
--
Regarding luna's husbando's comment though, yes, I have. And I was balloon phobic at the time. I stabbed them in the back of their neck with a Pilot Precise pen for their trouble. I regret doing it and it sure made my last few years of school kind of a pain to avoid getting any worse disciplinary trouble for it. But none of the other students there tease me for it afterwards, and eventually I learned better coping and protection strategies for dealing with being startled.
So like, I _sympathize_ with people who have a hard time with this kind of thing, or have traumatizing youth memories associated with it, but I don't think "a balloon pop is louder than a shotgun" is going to convince anyone to take the proposal seriously. It'd probably make more sense to simply ask the party participants ahead of time how loud they're comfortable with a party being, not having balloons at all of the noise or breakage is a concern, etc. Not a one size fits all thing.