Photo credit: Daxis licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, and Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition
Silencity has noted the importance of the Soundprint app in identifying restaurants that are too noisy as well as those that are quieter. The popularity of the Soundprint app speaks to the fact that there are many people who wish to enjoy their food and conversation with their fellow diners in less noisy restaurants. Now, we learn that an organization in the United Kingdom, called Mumbli, is certifying “venues on their quality of sound.”
This campaign to make London “sound better” has already measured sound levels in 300 venues and has identified those venues where “…you can have a conversation with a balance of good atmosphere and well-being.” The organization plans to rate 1,000 more venues in 2020 and extend their operation beyond London to across the UK.
What I found particularly interesting about Alice Leader’s article linked above is that she noted a study by the charity Action on Hearing Loss that eight out of ten people have cut their visits to pubs, restaurants, and cafes because of noise. Furthermore, the heading of the article “Loud noise forces 80% of customers to leave a pub” causes one to rethink that it is only those people who are interested in “fine dining” that are advocating for a “lower decibel level” in dining establishments. For those of you less familiar with the word “pub,” the more common American word is “bar.” Ms. Leader’s article also clearly links background noise to impaired hearing, well-being and productivity.
