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Standards using different reference levels, give rise to differences in audiograms. The ASA-1951 standard, for example, used a level of 16.5 dB SPL (sound pressure level) at 1 kHz, whereas the later ANSI-1969/ISO-1963 standard uses 6.5 dB SPL, with a 10 dB correction applied for older people.
While 1 atm (194 dB peak or 191 dB SPL) [11] [12] is the largest pressure variation an undistorted sound wave can have in Earth's atmosphere (i. e., if the thermodynamic properties of the air are disregarded; in reality, the sound waves become progressively non-linear starting over 150 dB), larger sound waves can be present in other atmospheres ...
It is approximately the quietest sound a young human with undamaged hearing can detect at 1 kHz. [4] The threshold of hearing is frequency-dependent and it has been shown that the ear's sensitivity is best at frequencies between 2 kHz and 5 kHz, [5] where the threshold reaches as low as −9 dB SPL. [6] [7] [8]
The human auditory system is sensitive to frequencies from about 20 Hz to a maximum of around 20,000 Hz, although the upper hearing limit decreases with age. Within this range, the human ear is most sensitive between 2 and 5 kHz, largely due to the resonance of the ear canal and the transfer function of the ossicles of the middle ear.
A graph of the A-, B-, C- and D-weightings across the frequency range 10 Hz – 20 kHz Video illustrating A-weighting by analyzing a sine sweep (contains audio). A-weighting is a form of frequency weighting and the most commonly used of a family of curves defined in the International standard IEC 61672:2003 and various national standards relating to the measurement of sound pressure level. [1]
The reference values of I and p in air have been chosen such that this corresponds approximately to a sound pressure level of 120 dB re 20 μPa. Since the human ear is not equally sensitive to all sound frequencies, the acoustic power spectrum is modified by frequency weighting (A-weighting being the most common standard) to get the weighted ...
The human ear can typically stand a sound pressure level of 120 dB before feeling pain. AHDs are capable of 135 dB or more of acoustic energy. OSHA states that any sound pressure level over 90 dB requires hearing protection. [16] As volume increases so does the chance of hearing loss.
Pure-tone audiometry provides ear specific thresholds, and uses frequency specific pure tones to give place specific responses, so that the configuration of a hearing loss can be identified. As pure-tone audiometry uses both air and bone conduction audiometry, the type of loss can also be identified via the air-bone gap .