Photo credit: Magnus D licensed under CC BY 2.0
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
I used to joke that a great headline to get attention paid to noise would be the one at the top of the page, based on research showing that transportation noise increases stress hormones, in turn leading to obesity and diabetes. ( Here’s a link to one of the studies showing people exposed to transportation noise had larger waist circumferences.)
But this report shows that in addition to making it difficult for patrons to carry on conversations while dining, loud background music in restaurant increases the selection of higher calorie “comfort food” menu options.
It’s a rare restaurant these days where one can converse–if one can converse at all–without straining to speak or to be heard.
That means that the ambient noise is above 75 A-weighted decibels, which is also the auditory injury threshold, and that means that diners’ hearing is being damaged.
Remember: if it sounds too loud, it is too loud.
