Ambient noise level

In telecommunication, ambient noise level is the level of acoustic noise existing at a given location, such as in a room, in a compartment, or at a place out of doors.

Note 1: Ambient noise level is measured with a sound level meter.

Note 2: Ambient noise level is usually measured in dB above a reference pressure level of 0.00002 Pa, i.e., 20 μPa (micropascals) in SI units. A pascal is a newton per square meter.

Note 3: In the centimeter-gram-second system of units, the reference level for measuring ambient noise level is 0.0002 dyn/cm². Synonym room noise level.

Source: from Federal Standard 1037C and from MIL-STD-188