DecibelwerkQuick answer: On the METER panel, press REC LOG. Decibelwerk records the level once a second, the average and the loudest moment, for up to 8 hours, while you keep the app open. Press STOP and the log is saved with a graph and the numbers people ask for: Leq, Max, L10, L90 and the NIOSH noise dose. With Pro, export it as a one-page PDF. Your first 3 logs are free.
What a log contains
| Number | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Leq | The energy average over the whole log: one number for “how loud was it”. |
| Max | The loudest moment (Fast time weighting). |
| L10 | The level beaten 10% of the time: the loud events, like bass, shouting or a door slam. |
| L90 | The level beaten 90% of the time: the steady background. |
| Time above 55 / 70 dB | How long it stayed loud (in the PDF report). |
| NIOSH dose | Share of a safe daily exposure; 100% is the limit. |
A big gap between L10 and L90 is the signature of intermittent noise, which is usually what makes a neighbour’s party or a barking dog so wearing.
The PDF report
Pro turns any log into a one-page US Letter PDF: start and end times, duration, weighting, every statistic above, a bar chart of the loudest level through the night, and a short note on how it was measured. Share it by email, Messages or Files. Typical uses are in logging a noisy neighbour.
Tips for a log that holds up
- Put the phone where you actually hear the noise (the bedroom, not the hallway) and leave it still, case off, microphone uncovered.
- Run a log on a quiet night too, so the L90 of a normal evening is on record.
- Label each log in the app with the place and what you heard.