←back to thread

185 points gregsadetsky | 5 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
neilv ◴[] No.44057933[source]
> so now, i am one of those people that plucks their ears when an emergency vehicle goes by with the siren blaring.

You might get one of those low-end decibel meters that supposedly are calibrated at the factory (around $25 in the US), to measure how loud the sirens are. Maybe they're louder than they need to be, and you can request for them to be adjusted, as a public health improvement.

I've been meaning to do something like this. My city has sirens throughout the day, but one particular ambulance company's seems much louder to me than any other company or other emergency vehicle -- dangerously louder. As someone who walks miles every day, on major streets and near hospitals, the near-daily potential hearing damage risk has started to get a bit concerning. I'd like to have data (and make sure it's not just a frequency sensitivity specific to me), before I ask them respectfully if the volume can be adjusted.

replies(1): >>44058058 #
1. lukan ◴[] No.44058058[source]
I feel you, but I also think you don't need to buy special equipment, they might ignore anyway.

To get a rough reading, your smartphone can provide that data via app. Then you would have some numbers you can tell official people - and then they can measure again with calibrated eqipment if in doubt.

replies(2): >>44058099 #>>44058350 #
2. neilv ◴[] No.44058099[source]
Is there an app you'd recommend?

(PhyPhox on my phone says it wants to be "calibrated" against one of those meters, but I haven't checked how accurate it is without that.)

replies(2): >>44058173 #>>44058354 #
3. lukan ◴[] No.44058173[source]
Unfortunately not. I tried it out one time, but don't remember the name. But there are many and the basic functionality should be the same.
4. ◴[] No.44058350[source]
5. gruez ◴[] No.44058354[source]
If you're on iPhone you can use "NIOSH SLM", which is pre-calibrated for iPhones.