Noise: you cannot get used to it
The microphone measures level in decibels only. Nothing is recorded: there is nowhere on the device to store it.
Which numbers are normal
The zones on the device screen. Colour appears only where attention is needed.
| day under 40 dB | quiet |
|---|---|
| night under 30 dB | quiet |
| day 40–55, night 30–45 | attention |
| day above 55, night above 45 | loud |
SanPiN 1.2.3685-21 table 5.35; WHO Community Noise 1999: bedroom at night ≤ 30 dBA
How it looks on the device
Real frames from the device, captured on 4 September 2026.
Why it matters
WHO and the European Environment Agency rank noise second among environmental causes of ill health, right after air pollution.
At night noise causes awakenings people do not remember and jumps in pulse. There is no habituation: people who have lived by an airport for years react the same.
Every +10 dB of road noise in large cohorts goes with a slightly higher risk of hypertension, heart attack and diabetes.
For concentration the main enemy is not hum but intelligible speech nearby: the brain cannot help listening.
WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines 2018; Münzel et al. Eur Heart J 2014; Chicago Health and Aging Project
What the device says
Hints in words on the screen. Actions about the room, not about the body.
- “Too loud for sleep” — above 45 dB at night: close the window or find the source.
- In the morning it shows how loud the night was, hour by hour.
Questions
- How accurate are the decibels?It is an estimate: the device is not calibrated as a certified sound meter. For “quieter or louder than yesterday” and sleep thresholds that is enough; for a legal measurement it is not.
Other readings: Carbon dioxide · Temperature · Humidity · Pressure · Light · Weather outside