Why do home alarms have to damage your hearing just to use them?

Question

When you enter your home, an alarm goes off until you enter the passcode.As a result, homeowners with a security system may experience hearing damage over the years.Why is this allowed?

ksaj · Accepted Answer

This sounds like you've misconfigured your alarm. Ours only makes a small non-loud reminder chirp until a certain time after activation and not receiving the shutoff code. The only loud part is if you don't enter the code on time.
Pretty much the only way I've ever seen door alarms configured.
The way yours is configured would result in a "Crying Wolf" situation where everyone is so used to hearing it go off they'll just ignore it as usual if there is an actual breakin - just like car alarms at apartment complexes.

JohnFen · Answer

> When you enter your home, an alarm goes off until you enter the passcode.
Maybe yours is different, but every alarm system I've seen lets you configure this so that the alarm doesn't go off for a short period of time, to give you a chance to enter the passcode before the deafening begins.
You want the alarm itself to be deafening. That's what makes it effective as an alarm.

maxwell · Answer

Draft legislation mandating a reasonable dB level in your state?