Evaluation of Methods Used for Converting Octave Band Analyses to Equivalent A-Weighting Levels

The United States Department of Labor standards for employee exposure to noise specify that sound levels shall be measured with an instrument that operates on the A-weighting network, slow response. However, some instruments currently being used are not equipped to measure A-weighting levels. Thus, it becomes necessary to convert octave band levels to equivalent A-weighting values for correlation with the adopted standards. In this article, three methods of converting octave band analyses to A-weighting levels are evaluated.