https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/app.html

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently made an app available that would help workers and employees measure sound levels in their workplace and determine if noise levels were safe.

The app is for iOS devices and is called the NIOSH Sound Level Meter (SLM). It can interpret noise exposure data in real-time and alert workers to unsafe levels of noise. It is easy to use and can help workers understand their work environment and make safer choices. It can also be used to collect data on noise exposure, since when a user presses “PLAY” sound levels are stored on the phone for the user to share with either their managers or health and safety officials. Conversations are excluded from the data collected. NIOSH estimates that 22 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels ever year, and workers’ compensation costs for hearing loss related claims average $242 million a year.

It reports the total time, the A-weighted Equivalent Sound Level (LAeq), the Maximum Level measure during the current run time, the C-weighted Peak Sound Pressure Level (LCpeak), and the Time-Weighted Average (TWA) and Dose. Exposures above a recommended exposure limit (REL) of 85 decibels using an 8 hour TWA are considered hazardous. The permissible exposure limit (PEL) set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is 90 dB(A) as an 8 hour TWA based on a 5-dB exchange rate.

The daily noise dose is based on sound exposure level and the duration of exposure. A person exposed to 85 dB(A) for 8 continuous hours will reach 100 percent of their daily noise dose. A person exposed to 100 dB(A) for just 15 minutes will reach 100 percent of their daily noise dose.

The app can be used in situations when professional sound measurement devices are not available but does not meet the same requirements and standards that professional sound level meters do.

Read more about the app and download it here.