Sound exposure

Sound exposure is the integral, over time, of squared sound pressure. The SI unit of sound exposure is the pascal squared second.

Mathematical definition

Sound exposure, denoted E, is defined by
where

the exposure is being calculated for the time interval between times t₀ and t₁;
p is the sound pressure at time t, usually A-weighted for sound in air.
Sound exposure level

Sound exposure level is a logarithmic measure of the sound exposure of a sound relative to a reference value.
Sound exposure level, denoted L_E and measured in dB, is defined by
where

E is the sound exposure;
E₀ is the reference sound exposure;
is the neper;
is the bel;
is the decibel.

The commonly used reference sound exposure in air is
The proper notations for sound exposure level using this reference are or, but the notations,, dBSEL, or dB_SEL are very common, even if they are not accepted by the SI.