What is sound level?

What is sound level?

• A. The force of sound waves
• B. The speed of sound
• C. The proper way to describe overall levels when a weighting is used
• D. The loudness perceived by the ear

Answer: (C)

Sound level is the decibel value you get after measuring sound pressure and then applying a frequency weighting that reflects how human ears respond. The weighting, most commonly A-weighting, adjusts the spectrum so that frequencies the ear is less sensitive to contribute less to the final number, giving a single number that describes the overall level of the noise in a way that correlates with what people actually perceive. This makes sound level a practical, objective descriptor for regulatory and engineering purposes. The force of the sound waves or the speed of sound are separate physical properties and aren’t what we refer to when we talk about sound level. Loudness is how loud something seems to a listener, a perceptual effect that can vary, whereas sound level provides a standardized measure (the weighted decibel value) that relates to that perception.

Sound level is the decibel value you get after measuring sound pressure and then applying a frequency weighting that reflects how human ears respond. The weighting, most commonly A-weighting, adjusts the spectrum so that frequencies the ear is less sensitive to contribute less to the final number, giving a single number that describes the overall level of the noise in a way that correlates with what people actually perceive. This makes sound level a practical, objective descriptor for regulatory and engineering purposes. The force of the sound waves or the speed of sound are separate physical properties and aren’t what we refer to when we talk about sound level. Loudness is how loud something seems to a listener, a perceptual effect that can vary, whereas sound level provides a standardized measure (the weighted decibel value) that relates to that perception.