Decibel : dB sound level meter

Just wanted to leave a positive review. I’ve been using this app to test the sound levels of the various environments I’m in, and it works well enough for my purposes, I just want to know when to pop-in ear plugs and if I do, whether to use my 16 SNR or 31 SNR rated ones. I also use it to make sure in not playing music too loud in the car or the house (both recorded music and musical instruments). The hearing test was an added bonus. I’ve had increasing tinnitus ever since high school, I always assumed I had some hearing loss and that my right ear was worse. I was surprised to find out my hearing loss is only in the highest frequency band in the LEFT ear and only very minimal. It really put my mind at ease especially since my tinnitus recently got worse and I am still waiting for my Dr appointment to have it checked out. I’m more optimistic that treatments will help preserve my hearing and hopefully counter the tinnitus as I had falsely presumed before I most likely had irreversible noise induced hearing loss.

For the past several years i have used this sound meter app to test each power tool in my woodshop and even my power sprayer. The meter shows the sound levels instantly in a very clear and easy to re-display. I then replaced some of my power tools like the small hand sanders with quieter units. For example I found that the Dewalt square sheet sander was much quieter than my previous small sander. I have 3M tech over the ear muffs in the shop but based on some of these readings I added foam earplugs as well. Also i simply use this phone app to test any new devices or equipment I’m interested in buying in stores as well. Keep in mind that the decibel level of a tool or concert depends on where you’re using it or standing. For example if you use a small high decibel device in the corner of a room it can be much much louder and more dangerous then if you use it in the center of a room!! I now, based on these meter readings, also bring earplugs to concerts and move further from the stage as needed to lower the decibels.

Thank you for this app. I was looking for something that could give me a general idea of the sound dB ranges in different locations. Since I only needed a general range for this project I looked for a free or low cost app. It worked better than I expected a phone app would be able to. I felt the need to leave a review as I am surprised at the amount of people that left negative reviews. The iPhone mic is quite different than a calibrated device that cost $100 and up. Not to mention variances in cases, dirt build up, people’s hand placement, even the direction the mic is being pointed at could slightly alter results. All that said this was accurate within 5db up or down in my results. Considering all I mentioned above that is pretty good. If you need something highly accurate for something of importance you should be looking into an calibrated device made for such things.