Use of smartphone sound measurement apps for occupational noise assessments

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kardous CA ; Shaw, Peter B.
• Description:
  NIOSH conducted two studies to examine the accuracy of smartphone sound measurement applications (apps). The first study examined 192 sound measurement apps on the Apple (iOS) and Google (Android) platforms. Only 10 iOS apps met our selection criteria for functionality, measurement metrics, and calibration capability. The studies compared the performance of the apps with a reference microphone and with a professional type 1 sound level meter and a type 2 noise dosimeter. The results showed 4 iOS apps with means of differences within +/- 2 dB(A) of the reference microphone. The Android-based apps lacked the features and functionalities found in iOS apps and showed a wide variance between the same app measurements on different devices. A follow-up study of the 4 iOS apps using calibrated external microphones (MicW i436 and Dayton Audio iMM-6), showed an even closer agreement with professional meters. Overall, the studies suggest that certain apps may be used for some occupational noise assessments but only if properly calibrated and used within the hardware limits of the mobile devices. NIOSH and EA LAB are collaborating to develop an occupational sound measurement app for iOS devices in an effort to improve awareness of the noise hazards in the workplace. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Analytical-instruments Analytical-processes Auditory-system Hearing-level Measurement-equipment Noise-exposure Noise-frequencies Noise-levels Noise-measurement Noise-pollution Sound Sound-attenuation

  More +
• ISSN:
  0001-4966
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  137
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049189
• Citation:
  J Acoust Soc Am 2015 Apr; 137(4)(Pt 2):2292
• Contact Point Address:
  Chucri A. Kardous, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226
• Email:
  ckardous@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing ; Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Part Number:
  2
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bebaf5498bfd9c52a4d07ad0ad3248ee3525887d987a6e2c62cdc489250d635448e85ea6b6d062a3549aa12ccd0f775fb32a4d55f1df343b6a5b61d8dc26499a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203723/cdc_203723_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 145.38 KB ]