Recommendations for Pre-Calibrated dB Meter?

[Mystery Reader]

Hi,
I'm thinking of adding a small handheld dB meter to my "tinnitus toolbox." I think it would be handy to have one, although I don't plan on aiming it at every little thing. My sense is that I might be over-estimating the actual sound levels in certain venues and causing myself unnecessary anxiety, and I want to get a better idea of that. I'm working hard not to overprotect, and I think that sometimes I might be using protection when I don't actually need to. (I know my body sense is best, of course, but I'd like to be able to measure the sound around me if I feel I need to.)

I've researched some and most say they need to be calibrated, which seems to require a specific tool. (Sorry - I don't know much about electronics.) The calibrators I've looked at seem expensive, and I'm wondering if anyone here has purchased a pre-calibrated meter, and, if so, did you find that it worked well?

Any recommendations or links for specific brands appreciated.

Thanks much!

Mystery Reader

 

[Mystery Reader]

Giving this a bump, in case anyone with any input on this missed the original posting. Would appreciate any info at all on this. Thanks so much!

Mystery Reader

 

[Elfin]

I am also in the market for one @Ed209 fo you have any recommendations?

Your sound engineering expertise are greatly welcome here!

 

[Jiri]

Hi @Mystery Reader
We've kinda discussed this already in this thread: Looking for a Reliable dB Meter (Sound Meter) I eventually ended up getting the URCERI Noise Decibel Meter with 35dB-135dB, and it was ok. Well, until I lost it at an ENT office. The doc told me it's not ok to be measuring every sound all the time (which is what I was basically doing, like walking the streets and measuring noise polution around me, traffic mainly). The problem was, that I was never too sure about its reliability. It'd often give different readings. So I decided that the next time Imma get myself the best compact sound meter there is, and I found this amazing world's smallest class 1 sound level meter Nor103. The only problem with it is its price. I ain't gonna lie to you when I phoned the company (bec I couldn't find it on amazon or anywhere else) I think I was told that it costs around £1546. Yea, way out of my budget. I ended up getting this instead: TROTEC SL400 (Accuracy: IEC 61672-1 Class 2, ANSI S1.4 Type 2). It comes with a tripod, and now I just push its plug into a socket at night and if I'm woken up by a sudden loud noise (firecracker idiots still around) I just look at it and it somewhat calmes me down. Ok. I was deciding to get this sound meter to carry on me at all times:
REED Instruments R8050 Sound Level Meter (Accuracy: CE, IEC 61672-1 Class 2, ANSI S1.4-1983). It is still quite big, though so I think I'll just get the smaller version of it (without any certification) REED R1920 instead. It is compact and comes from a reliable company so I expect it to be good. I hope this helped!

 

[kelpiemsp]

When using DB meters, it is very important to pay attention to the amount of time the noise peaked at. A DB meter can register a peak of 120 DB but if that occurs for < 1 second, it isn't doing any damage. Honestly, I kept a DB meter around me for a while, and it would peak at 120+ 10 to 15 times throughout a day. Often times DB meters measure impulses as quick as 50 ms. There are tons of 120db +peaks through out your daily life that are impulse but only last less than 1 second. When the charts are published they are talking about continuous noise. An impulse sound of 120db that lasts 200 milliseconds is way, way, way different than one that is continuous at 120 for 1 minute.