Photo credit: Pixabay
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Should noisy bars be a thing of the past? Noisy restaurants, too? My answer is an unequivocal “Yes!”
That topic is considered in this online article on the UK site The Drinks Business. Reporter Louis Thomas write that restaurants and bars in London are the second noisiest in the world after San Francisco, according to SoundPrint. High ambient noise levels are a disability rights issue for those with auditory disorders, i.e., hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis, posing as much of a problem for them as stairs at the entrance do for those with mobility problems.
Mumbli, a hearing wellness platform in the UK, is partnering with SoundPrint and the UK Noise Association with the goal of offering audio accessibility solutions to noisy venues.
We hope their efforts succeed. Quieter restaurants and bars where everyone–including those with auditory disorders–is comfortable and can converse easily with family and friends, will be better for everyone.
A quieter world will be a better and healthier place for all.
