In sound perception, how is a 10 dB change generally perceived?

In sound perception, a 10 dB change is generally perceived as a doubling or halving of the loudness. The decibel (dB) scale is logarithmic, which means that an increase of 10 dB represents a tenfold increase in the intensity of the sound. This logarithmic nature correlates to how humans perceive sound; specifically, a change of 10 dB is often equated to a perceived doubling or halving of loudness.

For example, if a sound measured at 60 dB is increased to 70 dB, listeners will perceive it as being roughly twice as loud as the original sound at 60 dB. Conversely, if the sound is reduced from 70 dB to 60 dB, it is perceived as being half as loud. This principle is fundamentally important for audio professionals to understand as they calibrate sound levels in various environments, whether in recordings, live sound reinforcement, or home audio systems.