NIOSH Sound Level Meter App for Hearing Loss Prevention

Author: CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Published: 13 Feb 2017 - Updated: 4 Oct 2023
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed | Product Release / Update

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Overview - Related Content

Synopsis

The NIOSH Sound Level Meter app is designed to promote better hearing health and prevention efforts at construction worksites.

Overview

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), at the 2017 International Builders' Show, announced a new mobile app that measures sound levels in the workplace.

The NIOSH Sound Level Meter app is designed to promote better hearing health and prevention efforts at construction worksites. Using a smartphone's built-in microphone, the app pulls in and displays real-time noise exposure data. Stats shown include instantaneous sound level, equivalent sound level, time-weighted average and noise dose based on NIOSH and Occupational Safety and Health Administration limits. The app also provides basic information about noise and hearing loss prevention.

NIOSH estimates that 22 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels every year. In addition to damaging workers' quality of life, occupational hearing loss carries a high economic burden. An estimated $242 million is spent annually on workers' compensation for hearing loss disability.

The new app is designed to assist industrial hygienists, occupational safety and health managers, and workers who may not have access to professional sound measurement instruments to measure noise levels on the spot. The app is also designed to help raise awareness among workers about their work environment, especially those in the construction and the service industries (including musicians, teachers, and restaurant workers).

The app is easy to use. It can serve as a practical tool that collects noise exposure data. The app provides a readout of the sound level in the workplace using either the built-in microphone or an external microphone and reports the instantaneous sound level in weighted decibels.

When the user presses the PLAY button to collect sound levels, excluding conversations, the app stores the data collected on the user's device for downloading and sharing with managers or occupational safety and health staff. The app also provides important information about noise and hearing loss prevention.

NIOSH establishes recommended exposure limits (REL) for various hazards based on the best available science and practice. The REL for noise is 85 decibels, as an 8-hour time-weighted average. Exposures at or above this level are considered hazardous to a worker's hearing.

Researchers hope that increased awareness could lead workers and managers to request professional noise surveys and to implement engineering controls or hearing conservation programs to reduce the risk of noise-induced hearing loss.

The app is free, easy to use and gives users immediate feedback about sound levels and noise exposure where they're working. It also allows users to save and share sound level measurement data with others via social media - which adds an element of fun.

Attribution/Source(s): This peer-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally issued as a press release by CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and published on 13 Feb 2017. Last updated on 4 Oct 2023. This content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.