Assessing the Acoustic Characteristics of Rooms: A Tutorial With Examples

In both audiology and speech-language pathology, as well as in speech and hearing science research, the space where the work is done is an integral part of the function. Hence, for all of these endeavors, it can be important to measure the acoustics of a room. This article provides a tutorial regarding the measurement of room reverberation and background noise, both of which are important when evaluating a space's strengths and limitations for speech communication. As the privacy of patients and research participants is a primary concern, the tutorial also describes a method for measuring the amount of acoustical insulation provided by a room's barriers. Several room measurement data sets—all obtained from the assessment of clinical and research spaces within our own department—are presented here as examples.