Education
Understanding noise, its health effects, and how monitoring helps residents, businesses, and cities take action.
Noise measurements are often done with the purpose of knowing what the levels are by measuring environmental noise. Environmental noise can be caused by traffic (cars, trains, motorbikes, airplanes), industrial buildings or sites, entertainment venues, or neighbourhood noise. They all make sound — and sound starts to be noise once we perceive it as nuisance or worse. Noise literally means "unwanted sound".
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), noise is the worst environmental nuisance after air pollution. There is substantial research proving that noise is much more than a nuisance — it is actually bad for your health. During daytime it affects your hearing; during nighttime it disturbs your peace of mind. Enduring noise during sleep increases stress levels and impairs daytime performance.
Luckily, noise-induced hearing loss is 100% preventable. Don't expose yourself to loud noises voluntarily. Wear ear protection if working in environments above 80 dB(A). Use earplugs at concerts and in discos.
Many countries have environmental agencies that follow up on noise complaints — but sometimes they are busy and you may wait weeks or months for an assessment. In many developing countries, regulations for noise protection are non-existent or unenforced. This is where SpotNoise comes in: take the measurement into your own hands.
The first step after recognizing noise nuisance is to quantify the noise levels. Noise monitoring is an exceptionally good, easy-to-use, and reliable method. Install a monitor at the point of highest noise exposure. It will register noise 24/7, send you notifications when levels are exceeded, and retain history data so you can print results and hand them to local authorities with confidence.
WHO guidelines
The table below shows WHO guideline values for community noise in specific environments. In your bedroom the WHO recommends no higher than 30 dB(A) with peak levels not exceeding 45 dB(A).
| Environment | Health effect | LAeq dB(A) | Time | LAmax dB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor living area | Serious annoyance, daytime/evening | 55 / 50 | 16h | — |
| Dwelling indoors / inside bedrooms | Speech intelligibility / sleep disturbance | 35 / 30 | 16h / 8h | 45 |
| Outside bedrooms | Sleep disturbance, window open | 45 | 8h | 60 |
| School classrooms | Speech intelligibility disturbance | 35 | During class | — |
| Hospital ward rooms | Sleep disturbance night-time | 30 | 8h | 40 |
| Industrial, commercial areas | Hearing impairment | 70 | 24h | 110 |
| Ceremonies, festivals, events | Hearing impairment | 100 | 4h | 110 |
Source: WHO Guidelines for Community Noise. Values at specified time bases.
Comparison
Excellent for city planning and locating noise hotspots. Great for Environmental Impact Studies before starting a project. Uses prediction software (such as SoundPLAN) to model scenarios — like diverting a road — without implementing them first. Calculates average values and cannot predict irregular or unpredictable activity patterns.
The only way to register real-time noise values from sources with irregular activity. Registers equivalent (averaged) noise values and maximum noise levels — all values needed to assess regulatory compliance. Can be shared publicly online. Typically, noise complaints decrease once monitors are installed and data is made public.
Standards
If you need measurements to be used in court, the court will most likely require your equipment to comply with IEC 61672 ("Electroacoustics — Sound Level Meters"), typically certified only by top-level institutions such as the PTB in Germany.
SpotNoise Residential accuracy is ±1.0 dB, well within Class 1 range. Even without formal IEC certification, if maximum noise values are clearly exceeded by more than 5 dB, courts and authorities will acknowledge the readings and investigate further.
Deployment
Offline monitoring is the most basic option — install a monitor, download data periodically, post-process it. Lowest cost, but no real-time visibility or automatic alerts.
Online monitoring (SpotNoise's standard approach) uses Wi-Fi to connect to SpotNoise cloud servers. All values are displayed online, retained for 1 year, and you receive automatic notifications when a pre-set level is exceeded — so you can react instantly. Perfect for both noise plaintiffs and noise polluters who want to self-monitor.
An offline mode version of the SP008A is also available for deployments without internet access.
Real applications
In many countries and industries, noise monitoring is legally required. Common real-world applications include:
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