Athletic events, community concerts, and parades are the perfect outlet for making family memories, but did you know excessive volumes can lead to early hearing loss?

Whenever possible, it’s important to protect your child’s intricate hearing system. Even a little loss can affect everything from daily conversations to how they hear music.

So, how loud is too loud?

First, let’s define decibel levels (the unit of measurement for sound). According to The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), hearing damage can occur when you’re exposed to sounds louder than the “safe noise level” of 70 decibels for over 24 hours.

The difference with large events—think a packed athletic stadium—is that you’re dealing with twice the noise. Exposure to 115 decibels for just 28 seconds can cause hearing loss, and sounds of 120+ decibels are considered dangerous for children.

Check out this range of noise levels from what you might hear at home, to what you might hear at public events.