by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
New York based researcher Greg Scott presented a groundbreaking study Tuesday, December 5th, at the 174th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. Scott reported actual decibel measurements, obtained using the free IOS SoundPrint app he developed, on almost 2,000 restaurants and bars in New York City. The average sound level was 78 A-weighted decibels (dBA) in restaurants, and 81 dBA in bars, showing that on average, New York City restaurants do not have sound level environments conducive to conversation and New York City bars are potentially dangerous in causing noise-induced hearing loss.
Even people with normal hearing can’t understand speech if the ambient noise is above 75 dBA, which is also the auditory injury threshold (the noise level at which hearing damage begins). People with moderate hearing loss–25-40 dB decrement in hearing–need ambient noise lower than 60 dBA to be able to understand speech.
The SoundPrint app is easy to use and helps users find quieter restaurants and the rare quiet bar. But it is clear to me–as I stated in my own talk, which preceded Greg’s–that high ambient noise in restaurants and retail stores is a disability rights issue for people with hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantees people with disabilities the full and equal enjoyment of places of public accommodation, which are basically any facility open to the public. If one can’t hear in a noisy place, one’s ADA rights are being violated. It is likely that legal action will be required to make these places quieter.
