When do you prefer a loud restaurant? How about a quiet one?
There are a few restaurants in town that I just can’t patronize anymore. When I visit with friends, I can’t hear the conversation. And my hearing isn’t even that far gone yet.
Sometimes, you’re looking for a hoppin’ spot, with a lot of action and activity. The conversation and the company isn’t as important as the spectacle, right? Sometimes, you want a place where you can cozy up for a good conversation.
Toward that end, our restaurant critic Joe Bonwich is reporting that we’ll be adding “sound ratings” to our restaurant reviews, in collaboration with the audiology program at Washington University.
Michael Valente, director of adult audiology and professor in the Washington University School of Medicine, was hearing a recurring complaint from his patients.
“We have about 13,000 patients, and one of the most common complaints is that many restaurants are so noisy that people can’t communicate,” Valente said.
The idea: Give diners a heads-up on what to expect when they visit one restaurant versus another.
Have you had experiences with restaurants that were too loud? Do you like it if the joint is jumping?
Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor. 
As a parent of a hearing impaired person, the noise level of a restaurant is a huge factor in our choice of restaurant. I welcome this additional information in restaurant reviews. I do agree, that noise levels will be different depending on the day of the week and time.
Newmommy…I hope you don’t think I was dissing kids by my comments. I like them around when I eat. And most that are misbehaving are tolerable. Loud is different than pathological craziness. Their idiotic half-blind parents who don’t see they don’t have enough parenting skills to be breeding are the things that are hard to tolerate. They seem to be increasing, but maybe that’s my imagination.
I’d welcome the “sound ratings”. My husband and I eat out 2-3 times a week and have seldom been able to find a peaceful, calm and serene place to go out to eat. We feel like we are eating in a school cafeteria sometimes. If we do find a quiet restaruant it usually the pricier establishments. When can we expect these ratings to be announced to the public (available online?) Thanks!
A noisy restaurant is the lesser of two evils, compared to a smoky one. Especially if the restaurant has a good jukebox, like Blueberry Hill.
Being one who has hearing problems my sympathies for those affected runs a bit shallow. I wear two hearing aids (not the itty bitty ones) and I can’t think of any restaurants that I go to where I can sit at a table of more than two and hear the folks who I talk with clearly. Does it keep me from going? No, restaurants are about food to me. I sit and eat. Then nod my head a lot. Sometimes I get it right, most times….I just see the humor in it.
Seriously though. Part of the problem with many restaurants is that large groups of folks think it’s the place to gather and socialize, noisily. Believe it or not when these groups start talking back and forth across large tables…….you get the picture? Multiply this by ten tables. Then folks wonder why it’s hard to hear? Duh!
Most of you that are having trouble hearing should check out your hearing. You probably have gotten to a point where you have some hearing loss.
Maybe some day a real smart restaurant owner will think about acoustics. There are ways to make sound not carry. Sound is pretty bouncy. If you can keep it from bouncing off of things you have a chance.
When my wife and I go out to eat a meal, we usually choose a relatively quiet restaurant. We actually like talking to one another and carrying on a conversation. Places that are too noisy, be it from a band, oblivious dolts on cell phones, or a juke box, we usually turn around and leave.
If we are going for the “entertainment” then we are prepared to listen and not worry about eating. I seldom find really good food at noisy restaurants (and no, a “sports bar” is not a restaurant in my book).
So, Joe, not only would we appreciate the decibel check, but also the “smokiness” check as well.
If you look at the article it’s about the patients of an audiologist. I can’t think of many people that hear good that see an audiologist regularly.
All you other folks that have problems. Maybe you should see an audiologist.
In response to Susan: We have to wait for the students to come back in August. We’re guessing sometime in September for the ratings to appear in reviews — and we’re also planning to add sound ratings for about 50 popular restaurants into our online database at that time. Then we’ll keep adding the new ones weekly and updating established restaurants on an incremental basis.
Most new restaurants in the city are being built in old rehabbed, buildings with high ceilings and bad acoustics. It has never bothered my friends as we dined and conversed. If you can’t hear well when you go out to eat, you need to invest in a “Listen Up” device that they sell on TV. The commercial is usually between commercials for Hover Rounds and AARP insurance…
Or just stay home….
Watch out jek. If you keep going out to those noisy restaurants, the high decibels will affect your ability to hear and you may need that “listen up” device someday. Both the decibel levels and the smoking issue in restaurants are health issues and I’m glad they are being addressed for the good of all. You rock Joe.