Excessive Restaurant Noise Puts a Damper on Dining

The Washington Post recently published an article about the effects of noise in restaurants. The publication sent their audio producer and food critic to a DC-area restaurant along with an acoustician to analyze the noise levels during their dining experience.  

Not only do they find that excessive noise levels impact the enjoyment of their experience, but it is revealed that noise complaints dominate online restaurant reviews. In fact, the Washington Post’s food critic says that he started recording and publishing decibel levels in his restaurant reviews in 2008 in response to reader feedback, and that behind tipping, “a quiet restaurant is the most requested piece of advice” from his audience.

Aside from disgruntled diners, high noise levels can influence our health and behavior. Cited studies call attention to how “prolonged exposure to noise has physical effects such as increased anxiety and fatigue…[making] the restaurant experience more taxing than relaxing for patrons, and [leaving] staff drained from a long day straining to offer service while risking hearing damage."

Why Are Restaurants So Loud?

Restaurants may not have gotten louder, necessarily. Still, the interior design of restaurants has certainly shifted to an “industrial-chic” aesthetic that emphasizes open plenum ceilings with exposed brick, floor-ceiling structures, or other hard, sound-reflective materials punctuated by a lack of acoustical, sound-absorbing material.

The reasons for opting not to go with an acoustic solution for a restaurant can also be attributed to cost. Too frequently acoustics are value-engineered out of a project in the design phase; the article cites acoustical consultants that estimate sound treatment for a dining space being “about 2 to 3 percent of a new venue’s total building costs.”

Despite this, acoustics should be considered a long-term investment and design imperative for any space, particularly for restaurants. When customer complaints are on the rise and business begins to wane, it will cost a significant amount more to retrofit the existing space with acoustic-performing materials.

The USG Solution

The Washington Post article brings to light the fact that restaurant owners and designers need a more practical way to understand the impact of different materials and design choices on sound and acoustics in dining spaces.

So much of acoustical performance, especially for ceilings, is defined in data, numbers, and ratings (CAC value, NRC value, etc.). These numerical values can provide a deeper understanding of the quality of acoustical performance, but it’s difficult to make design decisions relying on these factors alone. If restaurant owners and designers can more easily identify areas where sound dampening is necessary in an experiential, immersive environment for testing solutions, it is possible to create a more comfortable dining experience while improving the health and wellbeing of both patrons and staff.

Communicating the importance of acoustics early in the design phase is made easy with the USG Virtual Acoustics™ Experience (VAE). This invaluable tool gives architects and designers a greater degree of acoustical control by hearing how different ceiling types impact the sound within a space to both see and hear the difference. The VAE brings the data and ratings of acoustic materials to life as users immerse themselves in a range of representative room types.

Knowing that acoustics can easily become a pain point for building occupants, the VAE provides an audio and visual representation of a space in real-time. Simply select a pre-rendered space or scene and swap out different ceiling applications to hear the difference. Using a proprietary, physics-based algorithm, the VAE delivers an accurate, three-dimensional sound experience within the rendered space, allowing users to move around the room to hear sources of sound from different vantage points.

The VAE is available on USG.com and free to access on demand, with no scheduled demos necessary. With this platform, the VAE empowers users to hear and see the difference, leading to more informed acoustic decisions—learn more here.

Source:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/interactive/2024/loud-restaurant-noise-health-effects/