Eli5: the differences between decibels (dB) and weighted decibels (dBA)
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The ear response to sound pressure waves is different for various frequency.
There exists lookup tables to convert actual sound pressure in dB to more relevant perceived sound pressure in dBa.
[https://www.nexflow.com/blog/what-does-dba-mean/](https://www.nexflow.com/blog/what-does-dba-mean/)
>A dB(A) measurement has been adjusted to consider the varying sensitivity of the human ear to different frequencies of sound. Therefore, low and very high frequencies are given less weight than on the standard decibel scale. Many regulatory noise limits are specified in terms of dBA, based on the belief that dBA is better correlated with the relative risk of noise-induced hearing loss.
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>Compared with dB, A-weighted measurements underestimate the perceived loudness, annoyance factor, and stress-inducing capability of noises with low frequency components, especially at moderate and high volumes of noise. (Richard L St Pierre Jr and Daniel J Maguire, “The Impact of A-weighting Sound Pressure Level Measurements during the Evaluation of Noise Exposure” (paper presented at NOISE-CON, Baltimore, Maryland, July 12–14, 2004).)
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>db-C or the C-weighting scale is sometimes used for specifying peak or impact noise levels but there is generally not much of a difference between the two.
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