diff --git a/cfddns.sh b/cfddns.sh
index 206b5b0..24c6bff 100644
--- a/cfddns.sh
+++ b/cfddns.sh
@@ -114,9 +114,13 @@ writePlainTextLog() {
     return
   fi
 
+  PT_LOG_LEVEL="$(standardizeLogLevels "$2")"
+
+  ([ "$logDebug" -eq 0 ] && [ "$PT_LOG_LEVEL" = "DEBUG" ]) && return
+
   printf "%s %s %s[%s]: [%s] [%s] %s (%s:%s)\n" \
     "$(getTimeStamp)" "$(getHostname)" "$LOG_PROGRAM_NAME" "$$" \
-    "$(standardizeLogLevels "$2")" "$(uppercase "$3")" "$1" "${4:-UNSPECIFIED}" "${5:-0}" \
+    "$PT_LOG_LEVEL" "$(uppercase "$3")" "$1" "${4:-UNSPECIFIED}" "${5:-0}" \
     >>"$logFile"
 }