How Is Sound Measured?

By Author: Kevin Richard
Total Articles: 249
Comment this article

Soundproofing is the term given to the process by which an area, room or space is made less costly to sound. It insulates the place against sound and is generally utilized to lessen undesired noise.

To what extent a space or room has been made soundproof depends on how much sound is able to get through the soundproofing materials utilized. If you want to know how is sound measured , you should know that sound is measured in decibels, and this is how the effectiveness of soundproofing is also measured.

Decibels are not actually units of sound. Instead, they are a way to express the ratio between two levels of sound. Our ears perceive a huge range of decibels, which is roughly the difference between the quietest perceivable sound and the loudest sound we can hear without any kind of pain, is about 1 watt per square meter. If you want to know how to measure decibels, then this is the way.

Enhancing the power of a sound doesn’t enhance our perception of the sound in the same way. If one sound has double the number of decibels ...
... of a second sound, we wouldn’t hear the first sound if it is twice as loud. As a matter of fact, we would barely notice the difference. We would not generally perceive that a sound has become twice as loud when the number of decibels had increased by 10.

It is possibly simplest to realize how we perceive different levels of decibels by giving some common instances of noise and how many decibels of sound those instances generally make.

Long term exposure to high levels of decibels may cause hearing loss. Even short-term exposure to high levels of noise may cause hearing loss. How much risk of hearing loss there is depends on the number of decibels perceived and the length of the exposure.

The efficiency of soundproofing can be measured using an iPhone decibel meter by determining how many decibels noise in the protected area has reduced. To what extent has the level of noise been lessened since any area was soundproofed. In some areas, it is important that all external noise is excluded, like an audiology suite at a hospital, where hearing tests are undertaken. But for most people, soundproofing is utilized to lessen the level of noise to an acceptable level, where hearing is not damaged and noise is not considered as a nuisance.

Room dimensions have a substantial impact on what is heard in the room. Sound waves can bounce off walls and add on the direct sound, leading to early reflections and reverberation. The bigger the room the bigger will be their effects. How much of it we want added to our direct sound truly depends on the application on reverb acoustic paneling. As you can see, acoustic treatment should be targeted to a particular application.