Very easy to use and just what I needed to work with a patient who is trying to control the parameters of her speech - speed, volume, etc. The only reason why What I didn't give five stars is that ideally for my use the mic should be pointed towards it and not to the side. It was a great tool to help her see how loud or soft she was speaking. It also helped her understand how loud and annoying background noise can be. I keep the SL meter in a small pocket in my therapy bag with the batteries removed and pop them in when needed. I would recommend this SL meter to any speech therapist who needs a quick and easy way to measure voice loudness with a visual readout.