Confronting ISO: On the Use of the dBA Symbol for A-Weighted Sound Levels

Authors

  • Federico Miyara Universidad Nacional de Rosario

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37537/rev.elektron.9.2.216.2025

Keywords:

ISO, units, decibel A

Abstract

The International Organization for Standard­iza­tion (ISO) recommends the symbol dB for all instances where decibel units are used, particularly in the cases of quantities such as the A-weighted and C-weighted sound pressure levels, ruling out the symbols dBA y dBC. In this paper several  arguments are put forward as to why such recommendation is mistaken and should be revised, taking into account that the dB prefix is used in the symbols of many substantially different units as well as the fact that there are examples of situations where the criterion hereby proposed is accepted.

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Author Biography

  • Federico Miyara, Universidad Nacional de Rosario
    Profesor titular de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura, Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Director del Laboratorio de Acústica y Electroacústica de la misma Facultad

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Published

2025-12-15

Issue

Section

Acoustics, Audio, and Ultrasonics

How to Cite

[1]
F. Miyara, “Confronting ISO: On the Use of the dBA Symbol for A-Weighted Sound Levels”, Elektron, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 37–41, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.37537/rev.elektron.9.2.216.2025.