The figure you will see most often in Tihon suppressor specs is “−34 dB”. And it is just as often misread: an unsuppressed shot is about 165 dB, a suppressed one is 131 dB, so it is only a fifth quieter. Doesn’t sound like much.
But decibels are not kilograms: you cannot divide them or take percentages of them. −34 dB means that only about 1/2500 of the shot’s sound energy is left. Here is why, and how to read numbers like this.
A decibel is a ratio, not a unit of loudness
A kilogram is a fixed mass, a meter is a fixed length. A decibel works differently: it tells you how many times one sound is stronger than another. The scale is logarithmic — each step multiplies rather than adds.
That is because the ear covers an enormous range. The quietest sound a person can hear is an air pressure fluctuation of 0.00002 pascals. A rifle shot at the shooter’s ear peaks at thousands of pascals — roughly a hundred million times more. Writing such numbers out is clumsy, so we count powers of ten instead: 0 dB is the threshold of hearing, and every +20 dB is ten times more pressure.
For those who like formulas: L = 20 · log₁₀(p / p₀), where p is the sound pressure and p₀ = 20 µPa is the threshold of hearing.
How to do decibel math in your head
You won’t need formulas — four rules are enough:
- −3 dB is half the energy. That is why two identical sound sources together are only 3 dB louder than one, not twice as loud.
- −10 dB is a tenth of the energy. −20 dB is a hundredth, −30 dB a thousandth. Decibels add up, while the ratios multiply.
- −20 dB is ten times lower pressure. Sound energy is proportional to the square of pressure, so pressure changes “more slowly”: −6 dB is half the pressure.
- −10 dB sounds roughly half as loud. The ear itself perceives sound logarithmically, which is why this scale was chosen for it.
What −34 dB really means
Let’s apply these rules to −34 dB:
- Energy: 2,512 times less (10 to the power of 3.4). The suppressor removes 99.96% of the shot’s sound energy.
- Peak pressure: 50 times lower (10 to the power of 1.7). Unsuppressed, 165 dB is about 3,560 Pa; suppressed, 131 dB is about 71 Pa.
- Perceived loudness: roughly ten times quieter (2 to the power of 3.4 ≈ 10.6).
This explains the paradox that makes people doubt suppressors: a suppressor removes almost all of the energy, yet the shot is still loud. The original energy is huge, so even 1/2500 of it is 131 dB. That is loud, but for your hearing it is a different level of risk altogether — more on that below.
And “minus 21%” is wrong arithmetic, because 0 dB is not “zero sound” but the threshold of hearing. Percentages of decibels have no physical meaning. Earthquakes use a similar scale: magnitude 7 is just one more than 6, yet the energy released is about 32 times greater. Nobody would call a magnitude 7 earthquake “17% stronger”.
Why every decibel counts
A difference of a few decibels between models looks trivial. Here is what it actually means:
| Reduction | Energy, times less | Peak pressure, times lower | Perceived, times quieter |
|---|---|---|---|
| −25 dB | 316 | 18 | 5.7 |
| −28 dB | 631 | 25 | 7.0 |
| −30 dB | 1,000 | 32 | 8.0 |
| −32 dB | 1,585 | 40 | 9.2 |
| −34 dB | 2,512 | 50 | 10.6 |
| −36 dB | 3,981 | 63 | 12.1 |
| −38 dB | 6,310 | 79 | 13.9 |
| −40 dB | 10,000 | 100 | 16.0 |
Between −30 and −34 dB the energy differs 2.5 times, and between −34 and −38 dB another 2.5 times. You can barely hear 2 dB, but it means 1.6 times less energy reaching your ear.
An example from our catalog: MARA Compact S is −31 dB, 280 g and 130 mm; MARA L is −36 dB, 380 g and 180 mm. The 5 dB difference is 3.2 times less sound energy at the cost of 100 g and 5 cm. Whether compactness or quietness matters more is up to you, but now you can see what those grams buy.
The figure also depends on the cartridge. Vihor Integra-XXL 300 gives −36 dB on .308 Win and −28 dB on .300 Remington Ultra Mag: a more powerful cartridge means more gas. An 8 dB difference is 6.3 times more energy left after the suppressor.
−34 dB and your hearing
For impulse noise such as a gunshot there is a widely accepted limit: 140 dB peak. The WHO gives this limit for adults (120 dB for children), and EU Directive 2003/10/EC on noise at work sets the same limit: 200 Pa, or 140 dB(C). The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) warns that sound above 140 dB can damage hearing even after a single exposure.
How loud an unsuppressed shot is has been measured at the shooter’s ear (Meinke et al., Seminars in Hearing, 2017): .17 and .22 caliber rifles produce 140–144 dB, larger caliber rifles 159–174 dB, and pistols above .22 caliber 148–171 dB.
Now subtract 34 dB. A 165 dB rifle shot becomes a 131 dB shot — below the 140 dB limit. Without a suppressor every such shot exceeds it; with one, it does not. So −34 dB is not “a bit quieter”: it is the difference between a level that can damage hearing from the very first shot and a level below that limit.
See for yourself: below is a scale of everyday sounds, and the slider sets how many decibels the suppressor takes off a rifle shot.
- Sound energy
- Peak pressure
- Perceived loudness
| dB | Sound | Limit per day |
|---|---|---|
| 170–185 | Rifle with a muzzle brake | |
| 165 | Unsuppressed shot | |
| 145 | .22 LR, unsuppressed | |
| 140 | Limit: above it, even a single sound can damage hearing | |
| 120 | Ambulance siren | 9 s |
| 115 | .22 LR, suppressed | |
| 110 | Jackhammer | 1 min 29 s |
| 105 | Rock concert, stadium | 4 min 43 s |
| 100 | Angle grinder | 15 min |
| 95 | Motorcycle, metro | 47 min 37 s |
| 85 | Workplace noise limit | 8 h |
| 80 | Road traffic | |
| 75 | Restaurant | |
| 70 | Suppressed shot in films | |
| 60 | Conversation | |
| 30 | Whisper | |
But “below the limit” does not mean “quiet”. 131 dB is a very loud sound. Besides, a suppressor only tames the muzzle blast: the crack of a supersonic bullet, the noise of the action and, on semi-automatic firearms, the gas from the ejection port remain. So hearing protection is still a good idea with a suppressor, especially indoors and when you fire many rounds.
How to read decibels in suppressor specs
- It is a difference, not a level. “−34 dB” shows how much quieter a shot is with the suppressor than without it, from the same firearm with the same ammunition. How loud the result is depends on how loud the shot was without it.
- The figure depends on conditions. Barrel length, ammunition, the condition of the firearm and where the microphone is — at the muzzle or at the shooter’s ear — change the result by several decibels. That is why the values in our specs are averaged.
- Compare like with like. Figures from different manufacturers can only be compared if they were measured the same way. For choosing between one manufacturer’s models for the same caliber, decibels are a good guide.
- Subsonic ammunition is a separate story. It removes the bullet’s crack, so a suppressed shot becomes even quieter. But that is the cartridge’s doing, not the suppressor’s.
In short
- Decibels are a logarithmic scale: −10 dB is ten times less sound energy, −3 dB is half.
- −34 dB means 2,512 times less energy, 50 times lower peak pressure and roughly ten times quieter to the ear.
- A 4 dB difference between suppressors is 2.5 times in energy.
- A −34 dB suppressor does not make a shot silent, but it brings the peak of a typical rifle shot (about 165 dB) below the 140 dB limit.
The acoustic efficiency of every Tihon suppressor is listed in its specs, and you can filter by it in the suppressor catalog. For example, −34 dB is the figure for Oberig L for .223 Rem and 5.45×39, Vihor Integra-XL for .308 Win and other rifle calibers, and Titan Integra 9 for 9 mm.
