Why Restaurants Became So Loud...

https://www.vox.com/2018/4/18/17168504/restaurants-noise-levels-loud-decibels

 

Ridiculous.

 

All restaurants around here are the "trendy" loud places. We avoid all of them. Everyone complains - meaning most people dining there without tinnitus - but the owners simply don't care.

 

Great article. And, so true.

We have resorted to dining early, advising the managers/owners. I even show them the dB levels off my phone, unfortunately, most just don’t care. Some do, though.

I bring my Bose NC headphones and when the levels start reaching 80-85, I put them on with pink noise. It’s perfect to finish out the evening in relative peace. I can still hear with pink noise on.

I highly encourage those to help « us » go out to dinner, without high anxiety of the noise.

 

Seems like small restaurants around here hire the worst musicians in the world to play very loudly on Friday and Saturday nights. And they seem to think that louder makes them sound better.

 

I recently went to a korean restaurant where they played hip hop so loud that i couldn't hear my parents screaming over at me from the other end of the table. I was furious too because I thought i didnt have my ear plugs with me, I always carry a spare just in case...but i bought a new purse so it was bad circumstances. Luckily I managed to grab a pair of ear plugs from the Target across the street, there was no way in hell i was going to eat there without plugs...i really feel like loud music in public establishment should bbe banned or outlawed or something.

 

Great read.
Haven't been dining out a lot since tinnitus so would be very happy to find some new places.
It's an informative article but at the same time, very helpful.
I don't really care about decibel apps but I'm definitely checking out Sound Print.

There was also this:

• Go early: This one isn’t very fun. Who wants to eat at 5 pm? But if noise really bothers you, restaurants tend to be less heavily trafficked — and therefore quieter — before 7 o’clock.
• Request a quiet table: Not all tables are equal. If you’re seated in what you think is a particularly loud spot, ask to move. You can also request a quiet table in advance.
• Ask for the music to be turned down: If you feel the music is blaring in your ears, there’s a good chance others do too. Ask for it to be turned down.
• Complain: If restaurant managers field enough complaints about the noise, they may understand that they’re doing something wrong. Consider registering a complaint with management before you leave.
• Find your noise nirvana: If you know of a restaurant with decibel levels that please your ears, keep going. If you’re having trouble finding your noise nirvana, try SoundPrint to search restaurant venues by sound level.

 

I just went to a restaurant with work colleagues and it was way too loud. When I first walked in, it was a bit noisy, but I thought it would be okay with earplugs. Then they turned up the music as it got more crowded. I asked for the music to be turned down, and I think they did turn it down but I couldn't tell because everyone was talking so loud and the acoustics were horrible. I don't know if they actually turned the music down or the croud just got that much louder than the music. I think acoustics and people talking louder to be heard are a big contributor to restaurant noise. It's called the Lombard effect, and it just compounds when everyone is talking over the crowd to the point where everyone is shouting.

Now I'm just hoping this spike it caused is temporary and goes away soon.

 

From Twitter - please respond.

 

On the other hand, if restaurants keep being so loud it is because people still go there.

I never go to loud restaurants, and I come back to places that are quieter and can provide a quiet table for me.

 

I saw the responses to this - the author came across as v arrogant and narrow-minded. There needs to be more awareness of not just the dangerous effects of loud noise exposure on our ears but also the myriad adverse health effects noise pollution can lead to e.g. stress, poor concentration, fatigue, and even cardiovascular issues.

 

Tangentially related: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/...my-songs-tell-us-about-the-loudness-wars.html

about over compression in music

(ironically, I saw that I shared an article like this with friends years before I got T, so I was worried about my hearing before then but still got hit with the bad luck)

 

Found this organisation and I’m following on Twitter:

silencity.com