dB Concept

The concept of Decibel

The human ear can hear a wide range

of frequencies and intensities.

- Frequency range we can hear- 20Hz

to 20,000 Hz.
- Softest sound we can hear-
- Loudest sound we can hear-
- So, the sound pressure of the loudest
sound that we can tolerate is 10
million (1012 to 1014) times greater
than that of the softest sound we can
hear. In other words, the dynamic
range for loudness corresponds to a
pressure ratio of 10 million to 1.

Because of this wide range of

intensities we can hear, it would
therefore be difficult for us

- to measure and mention the intensity

heard
- to find out the threshold of audibility
of a person
- quantify the intensity of any sound or
the hearing level of a person.

We would be dealing with such an

immense range of numbers on a linear
scale (consider 1 million numbers!).

In order to simplify this quantification

process it was thought of to compress or
scale down this vast range of sound level
(that we can hear) to a more manageable
scale in numbers that is rational i.e.,
transform a large scale to a smaller
manageable scale. So, from a linear scale
they moved to logarithmic scale- the Bel
scale. The numbers were simplified by
calculating the logarithm to the base 10
of the ratio of two intensities
log 10 Ix/Ir

ref:

The Bel

This unit of measurement of relative

intensity is called the bel in honour of
Alexander Graham Bell.

Thus,

N(bels) = log 10 Ix/Ir

where Ix is the absolute intensity of the wave

in question in watt/m 2 , Ir is the absolute
intensity of a reference sound wave in
watt/m 2 and the bel is a unit of level of
intensity.

Now, what to use as the reference (Ir)? They

considered the minimum sound pressure that
is audible to the human ear as the reference-
10-12 watt/m 2.

In the example given below, the relative

intensities of the sounds in the table can be
described as 4,3,2,1,0, -1 bels re 10-12 watt/m2

Absolute Intensity in Relative intensity in

watt/m 2 (Ix) watt/m 2 (Ix/Ir ) re 10-
12
watt/m 2

10-8 10 4
10-9 103
10-10 102
10-11 101
10-12 100
10-13 10-1

From Bel to the Decibel

The bel, as a measure of relative

intensity of sound is less cumbersome than
the ratio of intensities because the wide
range scale of intensities has been
compressed by transformation to a smaller
logarithmic scale of intensities. i.e. it is
easier to describe the relative intensity of any
sound in a logarithmic scale as 3, 5, 12 bels
rather than as 1000; 100,000;
1,000,000,000,000 which would be the ratio
of intensities.

Although the bel might be less

cumbersome than a ratio, there are two
issues with the unit of bel.

1) It results in the scale becoming so

compressed that the entire range of hearing is
covered within 14 bels. This makes it very
difficult to express or quantify minor
changes in intensities.

2) With the use of such a compressed scale,

fractional values often result while
describing the relative intensity of a sound
For example, a sound intensity of 2×10-8
watt/m 2 has a relative intensity of 4.3 bels
(re: 10-12 watt/m 2)

bels = log ( 2×10-8)

( 1× 10-12)
= log 2 × 10 4

=4.3

Therefore, a better representation of

intensity of sound can be achieved and
excessive use of decimals can be minimized
if we use decibels (dB) rather than bels . The
prefix deci means 1/10. Therefore, a decibel
(dB) is one tenth or 0.1 of a bel. As 1dB= 0.1
bel, conversely, 1 bel = 10dB.

Thus, the equation for decibels can now be

written as

N (decibels) = 10 log 10 Ix/Ir

With the previous example, we can now say

that the relative intensity is 43dB rather than
4.3 bels.
decibels = 10× log ( 2×10-8)
( 1× 10-12)
4
= 10 ×(log 2 × 10 )

=10 × 4.3
= 43 dB

Definition: The decibel is ten times the log

of an intensity ratio or a power ratio. it is
1/10th of a bel and is named after Alexander
Graham Bell, the inventor of telephone. It is
a unit of measurement of intensity used in
acoustics and audiometry.

It is not an absolute figure but represents a

logarithmic ratio between two sounds,
namely the sound being described and the
reference sound. Sound can be measured as
power, i.e. watts/cm2 or as pressure, i.e.
dynes/cm2. In audiology, sound is measured
as sound pressure level (SPL). It is
compared with the reference sound which
has an SPL of 0.0002 dynes/cm2 or 20 µPa
(micropascals). Decibel notation was
introduced in audiology to avoid dealing
with large figures of sound pressure level
.
Decibel -characteristics

1) It is a ratio.

First, in case of ratios, the value of a

quantity is always expressed/described in
relation to a baseline value. Since the
quantity being measured is sound, the softest
sound humans can hear is used as the
baseline. Thus, the intensity or pressure of
the softest audible sound is used as the
reference value.

The reference sound intensity is 10-12

W/m2 (in MKS system), and the equivalent
reference sound pressure is 2×10-5N/m2 (20
micro pascals). The equivalent
corresponding values in cgs units are 10-16
W/cm2 for sound intensity and 2 × 10-4
dynes/cm2 for sound pressure. The
appropriate reference value becomes the
denominator of the ratio, and the absolute
intensity or pressure of the sound in question
becomes the numerator

2)It involves logarithms.

3)The decibel is a relative entity.

This means that the decibel is a

dimensionless quantity, and is meaningless
without knowledge of the reference value
(which is the denominator of the ratio-here,
the minimum audible level). Therefore, it is
necessary to make the reference value very
clear when the magnitude of a sound is
expressed in decibel form. The word “level”
is added to the original quantity when
dealing with decibel values. Intensity
expressed in decibels is called intensity level
(IL), and sound pressure in decibels is called
sound pressure level (SPL). The reference
values indicated above are generally
assumed when decibels are expressed as dB
IL or dB SPL. For example, one might say
that the intensity level of a sound is “50 dB
re: 10-12 W/m2” or “50 dB IL.”

Decibel in terms of power, pressure and

intensity

The general formula for decibel is expressed

in terms of power as

PL = 10 log P/P0

where P is the power of the sound being

measured, P0 is the reference power to which
the former is being compared, and PL is the
power level. Intensity in decibels is called
intensity level (IL) and sound pressure in
decibels is called sound pressure level
(SPL)
dBIL:
Sound measurements in terms of intensity
are important and useful, and are preferred in
certain situations. The formula for decibels
of intensity level is thus:

ILdB = 10 × log I/I0

where I is the intensity (in W/m 2) of the

sound in question, and I0 is the reference
intensity, or 10-12 W/m2.

e.g. Calculate the intensity level of a sound if

the absolute intensity of a sound is 10 -10
W/m2

ILdB = 10 log10-10 W/m2 / 10-12 W/m2

= 10 × log 102

= 10 × 2

= 20dB r e: 10-12 W/m2

In other words, an intensity of 10 -10 W/m2

corresponds to an intensity level of 20 dB re:
10-12 W/m2, or 20 dB IL.

Additional characteristics:- Every doubling

of dBIL leads to an increase in the total
output intensity by 3dB. This is an indication
of the non linear function . (Note down the
example discussed in class)

e.g. Adding a second loudspeaker with a

sound that is equal in intensity to the first ,
the total output of the 2 loudspeakers doesn't
not double, but rather increases by 3dBIL

-When the absolute intensity is equal to the

reference intensity , the ratio is 1:1.As log
1=0, it doesn't not indicate the absence of
sound, but indicates that the intensity output
is same as the reference intensity.
dBSPL:
Audiologists and acousticians are more
accustomed to making sound measurements
that usually are made with microphones in
terms of sound pressure and are thus
expressed in decibels of sound pressure
level. The SPL of a sound in decibels is 20
times the logarithm to the base 10, of the
pressure of a sound to the reference pressure.
The reference pressure is taken as 0.0002
dynes/cm2 (cgs) or 20 micropascals (MKS)
for a frequency of 1000 Hz and represents
the threshold of hearing in normally hearing
young adults.
Conversion from dBIL to dBSPL:

Intensity is proportional to pressure squared:

I ∝ p2

and

p ∝√I

As a result, converting the dB IL formula

into the equivalent equation for dB SPL
involves replacing the intensity values with
the squares of the corresponding pressure
values. Therefore

SPLdB = 10 × log p2/ po2

where p is the measured sound pressure and

po is the reference sound pressure (2×10-
5
N/m2). This formula may be simplified to

dBSPL = 10 × log (p/ po )2

dBSPL = 10 × 2 log(p/ po )

Therefore, the simplified formula for

decibels of SPL becomes

dBSPL = 20 log(p/ po )

Example, a sound pressure of 2 × 10 -4 N/m2

corresponds to a SPL of 20 dB (re:
2×105N/m2), which may be calculated as
follows:

dBSPL = 20 log 2 × 10-4 N/m2

2×10-5N/m2
= 20 × log 101

= 20 × 1

= 20dB re: 2×10-5N/m2

Additional characteristics : -

Every doubling of dBSPL leads to an

increase in the total output intensity by 6dB.
(Note down the example discussed in class)

e.g. Adding a second loudspeaker with a

sound that is equal in intensity to the first ,
the total output of the 2 loudspeakers doesn't
not double, but rather increases by 6dBSPL

-Just as in the case of intensity, 0dBSPL does

not indicate the absence of sound, rather, it
means that the absolute sound pressure is
equal to the reference sound pressure.

- Additionally, for every 10 fold increase in

sound pressure, dBSPL is increased by
20dBSPL.

-The threshold of pain is typically at

140dBSPL

dBHL (Decibel hearing level):

It is the sound pressure level produced by an
audiometer at a specific frequency. It is
measured in decibels with reference to
audiometric zero. If an audiometer delivers a
sound at 70 dB, it is represented as 70 dB HL
Need / Explanation for dBHL:
 While measures of threshold were carried
out in SPL, it was observed that, across
frequencies different intensities of sound
were required in order to just detect the
presence of sounds.
It therefore becomes a cumbersome task to
measure hearing loss in individuals in SPL as
the amount of hearing loss has to be
referenced to different reference SPL values
at different frequencies. Therefore, in order
to have an even baseline, in audiometry, 0
dBHL is considered to be the level of
minimal audibility (or 0dBHL is the lowest
sound intensity that stimulates normal
hearing ).

 The term hearing level or dB HL,

represents a relative measure of hearing
sensitivity, in contrast to the sound
pressure levels or dB SPL which
measures the absolute sensitivity.
 Thus, it becomes easier to quantify
degree and type of hearing loss in a
universal manner when dBHL is utilized.
e.g. a hearing loss of 50dBHL is called a
moderate degree of hearing loss
and a loss of >90dBHL is referred to
universally as a profound degree of
hearing loss. Similarly, hearing within
 15dBHL across different frequencies is
an indicator of normal hearing
sensitivity.
 Advantages of dBHL over
dBSPL
It is convenient
It is constant
Easier to quantify hearing loss

Sensation level (SL)- Another reference for

dB may be auditory thresholds of a given
individual. The threshold of a pure tone is
defined as the level at which the tone is so
soft that it can be perceived. dBSL refers to
the level of sound above the threshold of
hearing for an individual. If someone is
tested at 40 dB SL, it means he was tested at
40 dB above his threshold. For a normal
person, this would be a sound of 0 + 40, i.e.
40 dB HL, but for one with a hearing loss of
say 30 dB, it would be 30 + 40, i.e. 70 dB
HL. In other words, sensation level refers to
the sound which will produce the same
sensation, as in normally hearing person.

Advantages/Uses of dBSL:

- It is used to indicate the presentation level

of the stimuli for various tests e.g. In speech
audiometry, discrimination scores are tested
at 30 to 40 dB SL Stapedial reflex is elicited
with a sound of 70-100 dB SL

- It ensures testing at equal intensities across

various populations for different test
procedures without having specifically
mention them for different thresholds that
people can have

Zero Decibel/ Audiometric zero: Threshold

of hearing, i.e. the faintest intensity which a
normal healthy person can hear will vary
from person to person. The International
Standards Organisation (ISO) adopted a
standard for this, which is represented as the
zero level on the audiometer. According to
ISO, audiometric zero is the mean value of
minimal audible intensity in a group of
normally hearing healthy young adults.
Though the pressure levels are different for
different frequencies the hearing level dial in
the audiometer are calibrated with reference
to audiometric zero (normal hearing)

In other words, 0 dB SPL indicates that the

pressure of the sound in question
corresponds to the reference sound pressure
of 2×10-5N/m2

Thus, 0 dB does not mean “no

sound.” Rather, 0 dB implies that the
quantity being measured is equal to the
reference quantity. Negative decibel values
indicate that the measured magnitude is
smaller than the reference quantity.

Explanation:

What would happen if the intensity (or

pressure) in question were the same as the
reference intensity (or pressure)? In other
words, what is the absolute dB value of the
reference itself?

In terms of intensity, the answer to this

question may be found by simply

using 10-12 W/m2 as both the numerator (I)

and denominator (Io) in the dB formula; thus

ILdB = 10 log10-12 W/m2 /10-12 W/m2

Because anything divided by itself equals 1,

and the logarithm of 1 is 0, this equation
reduces to:

ILdB = 10× log 1

= 10 × 0

= 0dB re: 10-12 W/m2

0 dB IL is the intensity level of the reference
intensity. i.e this level occurs when the
measuredintensity is eual to the reference
level.

0 dB IL indicates the intensity level of the

reference intensity, so 0 dB SPL similarly
implies that the measured absolute sound
pressure corresponds to that of the reference

SPL = 20 × log 2×10-5N/m2 /2×10-5N/m2

Just as we saw in the previous example, this

equation is solved simply as follows:

SPLdB = 20 × log 1

= 20 × 0

= 0dB re: 2×10-5N/m2

Dynamic range : For a sound, its dynamic

range is the difference between the loudest
and the quietest signal. In case of the human
hearing system, the dynamic range is the
difference between the threshold of
hearing/audibility and the threshold of pain/
UCL. On an average, the dynamic range is
around 120dBSPL. In terms of dBSPL, the
dynamic range of low frequency sounds is
comparatively less than that of mid
frequency sounds. This is due to the fact that
low frequency sounds have a higher
threshold of audibility compared to mid
frequency sounds.

DR can be calculated for pure tone as well as

for speech signals. For puretones, it is the
difference between the threshold at that
frequency and the UCL at that frequency.
Thus, it is possible to get frequency specific
DR information if it is calculated for pure
tones. e.g. at 1000Hz, threshold is 15dBHL,
UCL is 100dBHL. DR at 1000Hz = 100-15 =
85dBHL
For speech stimuli, DR is the difference
between the Speech recognition threshold
and the UCL for speech stimuli. Calculation
of DR using speech stimuli gives
information regarding range of hearing
available for real world speech stimuli.

In hearing impaired people, DR is reduced as

the threshold of hearing in such individuals
is increased due to the presence of hearing
impairment e.g. at 1000Hz, threshold is
45dBHL, UCL is 100dBHL. DR at 1000Hz
= 100-45 = 55dBHL

Determination of the DR becomes extremely

important as it gives an idea as to if the
individual has recruitment or not. Typically,
reduced DR is seen in individuals with
recruitment, as UCL is reduced and this in
turn indicates presence of cochlear
pathology. e.g. at 1000Hz, threshold is
45dBHL, UCL is 80dBHL. DR at 1000Hz =
80 - 45 = 35dBHL

Fun Facts!!!

How loud is each sound???

10dB---Absolute silence.

13dB---Incandescent light bulb hum.

30dB---Totally quiet night time in desert.

40dB---Whispering.

60dB---Normal conversation.
116dB---Human body begins to perceive
85dB---Too loud! Beginning of hearing
vibration from low frequencies.
damage range, earplugs should be worn.
120dB---Front row at a rock concert.
100dB---Normal average car or house
stereo at maximum volume. 125dB---Drums, at the moment of
striking.

128dB---Loudest human scream.

133dB---Gunshot
140dB human throat and vocal cord
resonance occurs.

141dB Nausea felt after a few minutes.

144dB Nose itches due to hair vibrations.

147dB Formula 1 race car full throttle

drive bye

154dB Compression will burst child’s

balloon.

248dB Atomic bombs dropped on

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, August
6th & 9th, 1945.

Go through these books too!

Essentials of Hearing, Gelfand.

Fundamentals of Hearing, Hearing

Impairment and Audiological Management.

Assignments:

Calculations: