The Use of Sound Level Meter Apps in the Clinical Setting.
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare sound level meter (SLM) readings obtained using a Larson Davis (Depew, NY) Model 831 Type 1 SLM, a RadioShack (Fort Worth, TX) SLM, and iPhone 5 (Apple, Cupertino, CA) SLM apps. METHOD In Procedure 1, pure tones were measured in an anechoic chamber (125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz) sound pressure levels (SPLs) ranged from 60 to 100 dB SPL in 10 dB increments. In Procedure 2, human voices were measured. Participants were 20 vocally healthy adults (7 women, 13 men; mean age 25.1 years) The task was to sustain a vowel "ah" at 3 intensity levels: soft, habitual, and loud. Microphones were lined up equal distances from the participant's mouth, and recordings were captured simultaneously. RESULTS Overall, the 3 SLM apps and the RadioShack SLM yielded inconsistent readings compared with the Type 1 SLM. CONCLUSION The use of apps for SPL readings in the clinical setting is premature because all 3 apps adopted were incomparable with the Type 1 SLM.
American journal of speech language pathology