The decibel unit enabled standardized hearing characterization

Evidence

During this time frame, we also saw the development of the decibel as a unit to describe sound level. The unit, of course, was named to honor A. G. Bell, who passed away in 1922. Development of the decibel has had a profound impact on our ability to characterize hearing, including the use of suffixes such as dB SPL (sound pressure level), dB A (A weighted), and dB HL (hearing level), all of which are used to describe the level of sound in various ways. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 79

Categorization

• DEFINE: Names the three weightings dB SPL, dB A, and dB HL that recur throughout the rest of the book.
• SHARE: Could share with an audiologist or acoustics engineer friend that dB SPL, dB A, and dB HL are all rooted in honoring Bell, not separate discoveries.