Your parents tell you to wear earplugs when you go see your favorite band in concert. The earplugs are rated to reduce sound by 40 dB. What will the earplugs do if you wear them?

A 40 dB rating means the earplugs reduce the sound level reaching your ears, so the band will seem quieter. They reduce loudness, not the sound’s frequency, and they do not cause digital effects such as aliasing or oversampling.

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