Why Restaurants are So Loud & What to do about it (@)

[neverfstop]

Original WaPo story (gift) www.washingtonpost.com/science/interactive/2024/loud-restaurant-noise-health-effects/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzE3NDczNjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzE4ODU1OTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MTc0NzM2MDAsImp0aSI6IjI4MmNhNTg0LTE2ZDktNGQwNi05ZDAwLTA3MzY3NjA5ZDIzYiIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zY2llbmNlL2ludGVyYWN0aXZlLzIwMjQvbG91ZC1yZXN0YXVyYW50LW5vaXNlLWhlYWx0aC1lZmZlY3RzLyJ9.MJ_krZkIpCEpDzS97OuCo9DNv0VBCLWIqahxxawQPY4&itid=gfta&stream=top&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosfinishline&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter 


Summary from Axios

www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-finish-line-ec38768a-972e-4a0b-8905-4bf2e57b2aad.html 


Restaurants are noisy. Dining amid the din could be hurting us.


Why it matters: We live in a noisy world — and excessive noise is a seldom-discussed health threat that increases the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart attacks, The New York Times reports.

All that noise can be even more taxing when we're trying to eat and drink.


Noise complaints are increasingly common in reviews as restaurants get more cramped and louder. Surveys from Zagat and Consumer Reports have both found that noise is diners' top gripe, beating food issues, crowds or service, Vox reports.

🍽️ Zoom in: The Washington Post dives into the decibel levels of eating out in a fascinating interactive story that takes place inside a Peruvian restaurant in D.C.


(ETA @ b/c I'm sure this conversation will eventually include kids and dining out....)

[neverfstop]

I don't typically mind stuff like this if it's just DH & myself, but if we try to go out with a larger group (family, parents, siblings) restaurants are so loud you can only usually hear the person beside you & can't have a talk that the whole group can hear. We make it a point to avoid places that are louder & seek out the more quiet restaurants.

[glw]

This was my first thought:

“I do think that’s an issue with why restaurants have gotten louder, because I think there’s been an aesthetic change,” Wang says. “You know, we want to design a vibe that’s either kind of industrial or cool.”

It's so rare for restaurants to have carpet now. I know they can get gross and it's probably costly to clean/replace them, but it makes such a difference in noise level. Now only the uncool bluehair restaurants have carpet.


ETA: My sister's long-term BF is an acoustical engineer and does the exact type of consulting/design described in the article. It's fascinating to hear about and also impossible to go out to dinner with him!

[sakoro]

I started wearing a watch that tracks stress levels in January. I was surprised that noisy restaurants raise my stress level super high— even more than driving in heavy traffic or difficult work meetings.

[pixy0stix]

My hearing impaired/auditory processing deficient self HATES going with a group to a loud restaurant. I can't hear a damn thing even with my hearing aides. I try to position myself in the middle of the group so I can hear. If I'm at the end I just sit there and pretend like I can hear the convo.

Conversely, if I'm going out by myself to read I enjoy going to busy breweries because of the noise.

[noodleoo]

OMG YES! I thought I was just getting old. I feel vindicated.

glw , H and I recently went to a restaurant that had a tin ceiling and a very modern/industrial vibe. It wasn't crowded, but the noise was unbearable! Like H and I were complaining about it all through dinner and trying to figure out WHY since it was half empty. They had no curtains, no soft surfaces of any kind to dampen the sound. It was all wood and metal and it was terrible. The food was amazing, but we won't go back. They have a sister restaurant in another town that seems to be less awful so we will probably go there instead or just do takeout. I think it was the metal ceiling that made it so much worse than other restaurants.

pixy0stix , I can't hear anything in restaurants anymore either and it is frustrating. I feel like the only socializing I do without kids is during mom's nights, which are always at restaurants and most of the time I can barely hear anything. I've been trying to lip read or I just nod along and wonder what I've missed.  I feel like I need to get my hearing checked but it only an issue in noisy restaurants.

[pixy0stix]

Jun 5, 2024 11:13:11 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

pixy0stix , I can't hear anything in restaurants anymore either and it is frustrating. I feel like the only socializing I do without kids is during mom's nights, which are always at restaurants and most of the time I can barely hear anything. I've been trying to lip read or I just nod along and wonder what I've missed.  I feel like I need to get my hearing checked but it only an issue in noisy restaurants.

I'd get your hearing checked, even if you're only noticing it in specific incidences. You might be compensating in other ways that you don't even notice. Catching it early is good, because hearing loss is associated with increased rates of dementia.

My hearing loss we think is tied to antibiotic use, and I've probably had it for decades before I did something about it. Once I got my hearing aides a whole new world opened up, lol!

[UMaineTeach]

The din and chatter I can deal with.

The TVs kill me. Why does every restaurant need a tv and why must they all be on blast?

Sports bars are the biggest offenders, which makes sense, but there is no reason to have all the games with the sound on on all 25 tvs. We have asked a couple times now to turn down the TV, we were the only people in that section. One guy gave us attitude. He said he would turn the sound off once the event was over. We didn’t ask for mute, just to take the edge off.

The other restaurants with the random HappyTV “YouTube” videos on mute don’t make any sense either. What is it adding to your atmosphere? Is it doing anything other than creating a distraction from talking to people you are eating with or adding to the electric bill?

We went to a restaurant that was essentially an oversized barn shaped Quonset Hut. It was so loud that it actually hurt my ears. They needed sound dampening panels in the ceiling.

The panels one the ceiling made a great difference at one brewery. They are black on a black ceiling, hardly noticeable.

[gretchenindisguise]

It has definitely gotten bad - we tend to sit outside as often as possible so we can actually have conversations.

[bugandbibs]

My best friend is an architect who primarily does restaurants/breweries/wineries and she we have talked about this at length. Some of it is aesthetic choices and some on purpose by owners. She faces a lot of push back when she brings up sound and noise level. It's the first place owners cut when the budget gets tight because it's "unseen" by customers.

I distinctly remember a soft launch opening we went to and I was so annoyed by the sound levels that I told her I was probably never going to come back unless they opened an outdoor patio space. That particular owner felt that loud sound made people feel the place was popular and increased sales. Last week we were out to eat and asked the staff to turn down the music after people at my table began covering their ears from the noise. It was unbearable in the nearly empty restaurant.

[aprilsails]

I work in building construction, although I rarely do restaurants. Open ceilings are the devil. I know acoustic tiles get a lot of hate but they are an excellent sound absorption system and make a world of difference.

When I go to a restaurant I will always choose a booth if I can get it. I recently went to a restaurant on a relatively quiet night that had these huge padded fabric booths, carpet, and thick velvet draperies bordering the windows. It was so unbelievably quiet it was almost disarming, but at the same time very nice and intimate. It was also brand new, so hopefully some restaurants are leaving behind the industrial minimalism aesthetic and going back towards a luxury maximalism style. Fingers crossed.

My Mom just bought a house with a two story octagonal great room. 5 walls are double height glass windows. It is auditory hell. When the whole family was in there talking at Christmas I basically shut down because the sound levels were so jarring. She's since gotten motorized blinds installed on the windows and lowering them when a lot of people are in the room makes a huge difference. I'm trying to convince her to install some acoustic baffles hung from the ceiling. It doesn't help that the floor is polished concrete. She has a large area rug but she can't cover the whole thing.

[cap]

Add me to the list of people annoyed by it. I ate at a restaurant this afternoon and the noise was unbearable. Sealed concrete floors, open/industrial ceiling, and music turned up way too high. At one point, I said "I wish they didn't have the music turned up so loud," and the person across the table from me literally said, "What? I can't hear you," and he wasn't joking. Even if the music had been quieter, it still would have been noisy because of the design. We would have sat outside, but it had rained earlier in the day and everything was wet.

[definitelyO]

there is a local restaurant we love - but stopped going b/c you cannot hear the person across from you in the booth... so #same

[basilosaurus]

I can tell you this is not unique to usa.

I'm currently dining at a nearly empty bar/restaurant (in a hotel lobby) and cannot hear the server. Add on top the language and accent differences. There is a whole lot of variations of what? Can't hear, can't understand, please repeat, from all sides. And this is from people (self incl) who have lots of experience figuring out accents and imperfect English in such chaotic noise surroundings. It's literally our jobs. It's nearly impossible now.

[macmars45]

Due to my Cerebral Palsy my left ear buzzes loudly and painfully when the music/talking/tv/acoustics are too loud. There are multiple restaurants I've been to once and never returned to specifically because it was so loud.

[al dente]

I have felt this everywhere since coming out of the pandemic. It's like things shut down and when they opened back up places forgot what a background noise level was.

Our dentist office always has the TV BLASTING a kids movie at I swear full volume. I can never hear the receptionist and always feel like I must be crazy if everyone else works in that environment everyday and isnt bothered apparently and I'm there for 10 minutes ready to jump out of my skin.

But I also feel like grocery stores and other shopping places will have music going at a way higher volume then it was previously.

[wanderingback]

Ok I’m hoing to have to start paying attention to this more! I know a few times I’ve noticed this but not an alarming amount thinking back. I don’t go to sports bars so I can’t think of any places I go that blast TVs, thankfully!

I’m going to brunch this morning at a place I’ve never been so I’ll pay attention

Thanks for sharing the article!

[wildrice]

Jun 9, 2024 7:20:46 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Ok I’m hoing to have to start paying attention to this more! I know a few times I’ve noticed this but not an alarming amount thinking back. I don’t go to sports bars so I can’t think of any places I go that blast TVs, thankfully!

I’m going to brunch this morning at a place I’ve never been so I’ll pay attention

Thanks for sharing the article!

I think blasting TVs is unusual - if there is a local team having a game sometimes they will turn on sound just for that game, but usually most people are there to watch the game anyway so it's fine. Otherwise they will be silently playing in the background even at most sports bars. I agree having TVs at all outside of a sports bar is annoying, though - we are conditioned to look at a screen if we see it, so it can be very distracting to try to have a conversation with random nonsense playing behind the person you are speaking with.

I agree noise has gotten out of hand in many restaurants. I dislike most group dinners at this point in my life because I can never hear if the person isn't right next to or right across from me, so if the conversation is further down the table I feel left out or bored. I honestly wish most places just skipped the music because I think it's one of the main problems and doesn't add enough to the experience to make that worth it.

[themoneytree]

Jun 9, 2024 0:41:30 GMT -5 al dente said:

I have felt this everywhere since coming out of the pandemic. It's like things shut down and when they opened back up places forgot what a background noise level was.

This is me. I never noticed it before, but since Covid I find places so much louder. I can’t tell if it’s the places that changed, or my tolerance for noise. Sometimes it’s almost unbearable.

[livinitup]

There is a restaurant I otherwise like with a shockingly high noise level. Like, it’s remarkable. It has a modern country vibe - high ceilings, wood floors, sparse, white flowers, clean lines, not a lot to absorb the sounds of people talking and eating. It’s in fabulous location - right across the street from a popular theatre.

Super annoying.

It does affect the service, the last time our waiter could not hear us well and as a result made some errors. Sometimes it’s hard to chat, too. It causes me to not want to linger if we hit the end of the meal at a busy time. We’ll skip coffee and dessert.

I guess I hadn’t thought that they could make different design/structural choices to improve the sound quality.