Evaluation of noise pressure level at mosques at the time of religious ceremonies

The use of new technologies has positive and negative effects on human society. Loudspeakers and sound systems can also make harm to humans and noise pollution. Shiite religious ceremonies have special religious occasions in addition to the five prayers and religious lectures. The high performance of audio systems in mourning applications requires proper use of this technology. The purpose of this study was to determine the sound pressure level in religious centers and on various religious occasions in mosques and chapels of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

In this descriptive-analytical study, the sound pressure level was surveyed in all active mosques and chapels at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2016. To determine the sound pressure level distribution, TES 1358 was used to measure the noise level.

The mean sound pressure levels in the endowment, lecture, and mourning ceremonies were 87.14, 90.31 and 93.91 dB respectively. Comparison of the sound pressure level in the A-weighting network in a  mourning ceremony with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization standards showed a significant difference (P-value = 0.013).

Since the average time for holding religious ceremonies and celebrations is up to 2 hours, the audio players and design of the interiors should be adjusted to a maximum sound pressure level of 80 dB. Keywords:Sound Pressure Level, Mosques, Religious Ceremonies, University of Medical Sciences