In this study, pressure waves generated by applying a pulsed high voltage (HV) to a surface dielectric barrier discharge element were measured using optical wave microphone. The authors conducted experiments by changing parameters, such as the magnitude, polarity, and repetition rate of the applied pulsed voltage, and the distance between the laser of the optical wave microphone and the electrode of the surface discharge element. In the measurements at different distances between the laser and the electrode, the propagation of pressure waves was observed, and the propagation speed could be estimated. Measurements taken within 4 mm from the HV electrode suggested the influence of shock waves due to significant intensity and propagation speed above the speed of sound in air. Furthermore, the sound field of the surface discharge driven by the pulsed HV was measured by using the optical wave microphone computer tomography (CT) scan technique, and the two-dimensional sound field distribution was made.