If I recall correctly the maximum Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) for earplugs and earmuffs is around 30db. You can combine the two for a slight increase in hearing protection but you still hit a limit because of bone vibration.
Is there PPE out there to go even further beyond this? Where would it be commonly used?
I wonder if there would be a way to counter that though. Maybe some kind of sound-focused bomb suit developed for a single profession?
I imagine most situations are avoidable with modern technology allowing us to do things remotely but perhaps there was something used historically or as part of a “because I can” experiment.
Space-suits must operate this way, if inadvertently…
The number of decibels at the rocket-nozzles is waaay higher than what it would be “at the top of the candle”, but … there’s pretty-much nothing in Nature as loud as those things are, except meteorites, maybe some volcanoes, being inside of lightning, etc…