A decibel (dB) is a unit used to measure sound intensity or power levels. It is based on a logarithmic scale, which means that an increase of 10 dB represents a tenfold increase in sound pressure level. The human ear perceives sounds with different intensities as having the same loudness at specific reference points on the decibel scale. For example, a sound intensity of 0 dB is considered to be the threshold of human hearing, while an intensity of 120 dB is described as being extremely painful or potentially damaging to one's ears.