Understanding Changes in Sound Intensity Level for Masking Configurations Used to Prevent Respiratory Illnesses

Overview

Face masks are common for preventing the spread of respiratory illnesses, with immunocompromised individuals commonly wearing one mask or more to improve protection against airborne particles. Previous research has noted communication issues with masks due to natural acoustics caused by their intrinsic properties. The goal of this study was to understand changes in sound intensity level (dB) from different masking configurations (single and double surgical mask, surgical mask with cloth mask, surgical mask with N95 mask) at frequencies of vowel formants (peaks in amplitude of the human voice that define tone). It was hypothesized that at all three frequencies (280, 1030 and 1920 Hz), the cloth mask with surgical mask would have the lowest sound intensity lev el. To test this, a model head was utilized with a speaker and microphone, and the sound intensity level was recorded using the Praat software. A two -way ANOVA test showed the interaction between masking configuration and frequency to have a significant impact on the sound intensity level, F(6, 348) = 393.23, p<.001. Simple main effects tests revealed that both masking configuration and frequency significantly affected the sound intensity level, p<.001 for both tests. It was concluded, therefore, that the masking configurations utilized in the study led to significant decreases in sound intensity level compared to a single surgical mask. The hypothesis was not supported by the collected data, as the cloth mask with surgical mask did not have the lowest sound intensity level for two of the frequencies.

Competition history

• JSHS 2025 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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