When dinner music becomes an assault on the ears: let's insist restaurants turn down the noise

I'm going into the weekend with a scratchy throat, a byproduct of a trendy restaurant. I spent all my time at lunch yelling at my lunch companion.

Mind you, I didn't do  this because I was angry or he had done something wrong. On the contrary, I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with my old friend Peter Baron, a PR guru here in Atlanta. But we had to yell at one another to be heard over the music. I wish I could say this is unusual; unfortunately, it's anything but. In fact, recently my husband and I walked out of a Chili's vowing never to go back because it was so loud we couldn't enjoy our meal or have a decent conversation.

Peter, Ralph (my husband) and I are all Boomers, but I'm the only one with a hearing problem. (By the way, that turns out to be statistically relevant, as studies show 1 in 3 people over 50 suffer a hearing loss). Even though they hear much better than I do,  they share my annoyance at finding it  difficult to enjoy visiting over a meal.  (Did you know, by the way, that according to the Hearing Aid Music Foundation, Boomers are the largest demographic in history to suffer from preventable hearing loss brought on by environmental conditions, such as listening to loud music? )

I asked a waitress at one  restaurant why it was necessary to play music so loud and she answered - with a straight face - "Because it creates atmosphere." Who knew contributing to noise pollution was a marketing ploy?

I hereby ask forgiveness of all those I've ridiculed for their ever-present white earbuds. I now suspect they may be trying to block out music, not pipe it in!

We Boomers need to be bolder about asking restaurant managers to turn down the music when it keeps us from enjoying our meal. There's no reason to pay to be assaulted. And if they don't ? Plead temporary blindness when the check comes.

Comments

[Todd]

I feel your pain. I must have foam earplugs at the ready when dining out, visiting the bank, and visiting most retail stores. My take on the waitress's response? Employees are more and more at the mercy of corporate decision-makers. I cannot begin to list the establishments whose employees have told me, "Sorry, we have no way of changing the sound settings -- they are fixed by our corporate offices." Increasingly, the corporate decision makers are leaving the employees powerless. It's incredible how today's youth have been beaten into submission by foreground noise, so much so that they are willing to work in places with very loud, intrusive noise. It's become simply the norm in their world. Increasingly, they accept it without thinking. This could have been the case with the waitress. I just viewed a news report on this subject last night, in fact. E-mail me and I'll send you the link. And now, restaurants employ "Audio Architects" who decide what selections or channels to put in the foreground. No longer is it background noise. Also, Dame Gillian Weir has written perhaps the most important commentary on music, silence, and thought. Google "Gillian Weir" and "Muzak" and you'll find it at her website.

Thanks so much for your article.

Kind Regards,
Todd
toddhamo at integrity dot com