Eli5: the differences between decibels (dB) and weighted decibels (dBA)
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dBA refers to the dB measurement made after the sound has been run through a filter which rolls off a lot of the bass (very low frequencies) and some of the treble (very high frequencies), matching the reduced sensitivity of our ears to those frequency ranges.
The point is to make the measurement match our hearing, so it tells you how loud something *seems* to us, rather than how intense it actually measures as.
For example, we perceive a 70 dB deep bass tone to be at about the same volume as a 45 dB midrange (speech) tone. If we do a dBA measurement, they’ll both be 45 dB.
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