Photo credit: Chan Walrus from Pexels by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition Restaurant noise is my bete noire. I developed tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and hyperacusis (a sensitivity to loud noise) after a one-time exposure to loud noise in a restaurant on New Year’s Eve in 2007. As I write in the
A tech solution to restaurant noise? Yes, but at a cost—$60k to $80k, to be exact. Or restaurateurs could engage in some cheap self-help and just turn down the music volume.
In his letter to the editor, Max Frankel--the former NY Times editor who suggested the paper’s food critics write about restaurant noise--hits the nail on the head.
Pete Wells, NY Times food critic, doesn’t think restaurant noise is a problem. But Dr. Fink doesn’t agree, and neither do most commenters to Well’s article on restaurant noise.
Dining out is about more than the food on your plate, says food writer Bob Yesbek. Dr. Daniel Fink agrees and suggests we ask local officials to pass quiet restaurant ordinances.
Ah, the neverending quest for quiet dining. This time the location is Ashevill, NC, where writer Brook Randle focuses on the problem of restaurant noise.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s restaurant critic Soleil Ho writes about restaurant noise. She gets it mostly right, says Dr. Daniel Fink, except for one thing—restaurant noise is a disability rights issue.
Another report about restaurant noise, this time in USA Today, one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the U.S. Will this finally get restaurateurs attention?
Joyce Cohen interviews Dr. Daniel Fink for her thoughtful article in the Washington Post on how restaurant noise discriminates against the hearing impaired.
A story in Modern Restaurant Management discusses potential design solutions to address restaurant noise. Dr. Daniel Fink suggests this free and easy fix—turn down the amplified sound!
