Page 20 - Occupational Health & Safety, September 2017

HEARING PROTECTION
Noise/ Sound Meter App Name with Specs
Cost
Approximate Dynamic Ranges and Compatibility
Link and Notes
NIOSH SLM
Updated: May 18, 2017 Version: 1.0.4
Size: 25.5 MB Language: English Seller: EA LAB d.o.o.
© 2016 EA LAB Rated 4+
Free
65 to 95 dBA
Note on range: This app has been verified up to 105- 110 dBA.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/ app.html
NIOSH hearing loss researchers collaborated with an app developer, EA LAB, to create an iOS based sound level meter app that measures and characterizes occupational noise exposure similar to professional instruments.
SPLnFFT
Updated: Jun 20, 2017
Version: 6.7
Size: 7.4 MB
Languages: English, French, German Seller: Fabien Lefebvre
© 2010 Fabien LEFEBVRE Rated 4+
$3.99
30 to 130 dBA
Compatibility: Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/splnfft- noise-meter/id355396114?mt=8
• Consistent in testing with results approximating results using a professional SPL meter.
• This iOS sound meter App is the only one for iOS recommended by the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America. • A&C weightings are compliant with ANSI® S1.42 standard.
LogSPL
Updated: Mar 01, 2017 Version: 4.3
Size: 1.0 MB
Languages: English, French Seller: Fabien Lefebvre
© 2011 Fabien LEFEBVRE Rated 4+
$1.99
30 to 130 dBA
Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/logspl/ id491999427?mt=8
• Simpler and less expensive than the SPLnFFT, it consists of two parts: half top for basic features, half bottom for advanced ones.
• Half top was thus designed to be extremely easy to use.
SoundMeter+ App
Updated: Feb 28, 2017 Version: 1.9
Size: 11.4 MB Language: English Seller: AURALWARE LLC © 2012 AuralWare, LLC Rated 4+
$1.99
30 to 130 dBA
Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ soundmeter/id583747153?mt=8
• Precise Multi-Function Noise Meter: 1. Sound Level Meter, 2. Noise (OSHA/NIOSH) DOSI Meter, 3. Impulsive Noise Meter with live Professional Grade Hearing-Safety Monitor Messages & Alerts.
SPL Meter
Updated: April 12, 2017
Version: 9.2
Size: 34.7 MB
Languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Polish, Simplified Chinese, Swedish
Seller: Andrew Smith © Andrew Smith Rated 4+
$0.99
40 to 120 dBA in 9 ranges
Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spl-meter/ id309206756?mt=8
Modeled after a traditional analog SPL meter, this app has the characteristics and qualities found in those meters, including the ballistics, ranges, filters, and decay rates.
This app has advanced DSP-based algorithms that meet or exceed ANSI / IEC Type 1 standards.
Note: The apps above are designed to give approximate values and are not intended to provide professional-grade sound measurement.
However, with Millennials, there is another tool which can be helpful—technology and the evolving smart phone apps that help measure sound. After all, Millennials have grown up on technology and respond positively to it. They are tech-savvy, well educated, and they love a good smart phone app.
How can you tell when a noise is unhealthy for your ears? There’s an app for that. Sound-level meter apps available for smart phones “can have a tremendous and far-reaching impact in the area of noise control,” says CDC. The mobile nature of the smart phone makes it easy for Millennials to take control of their hearing health by downloading apps that measure the decibel level of sounds in the environment around them. CDC and NIOSH say the benefits of these apps include:
■ Raise workers’ awareness about their work environment
■ Help workers make informed decisions about the potential hazards to their hearing
■ Serve as a research tool to collect noise exposure data
■ Promote better hearing health and prevention efforts
■ Easy to use
Although many smart phone apps are very accurate, they should
not be used for OSHA compliance purposes or professional-grade sound measurement. Instead, sound meter apps should be used as a tool to screen surrounding environments for noise pollution, including workplaces, gyms, concerts, power appliances, kitchen tools, loud moving vehicles, airports, etc. Smart phone apps are not intended to be used in diagnosis or treatment of any medical con-
20 Occupational Health & Safety | SEPTEMBER 2017
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