Napa Valley, California
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Napa Noise |
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Napa Valley, California
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Napa Noise |
Thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle for the following decibel ratings of Napa Valley restaurants. The Chronicle is a pioneer in including noise ratings in its restaurant reviews.
Pleasantly quiet (under 65 decibels)
Can talk easily (65-70 decibels)
60-70 is the level of normal conversation at 3-5 feet, normal piano practice, or a fortissimo singer 3 ft. away
Talking normally gets difficult (70-75 decibels)
Can only talk in raised voices (75-80 decibels)
75-85 is the level of chamber music in a small auditorium, 80 decibels is the dial tone of a telephone
Too noisy for normal conversation (80+ decibels)
85 decibels is the sound of city traffic from inside a car
Noise levels are measured in decibels (dB), with the lowest audible sound measured at 0 and the loudest sound possible reaching 194dB. The scale is logarithmic. An increase by 10 dB indicates a multiple increase in sound intensity or power.
The average noise level of a typical restaurant during a dining rush is 80 dB (decibels). Some restaurants reach as much as 110 dB. That's the equivalent of a road construction site or a lawnmower. The ear, however, is most sensitive to speech for conversation between 48-72 dB.
According to Zagat Survey, who reviewed more than 15,000 restaurants across the nation, noise is the second most common complaint of restaurant-goers (poor service is first).
Two audiology researchers at the University of California in San Francisco decided to measure the noise levels in five different restaurants. The restaurants ranged from bar/restaurants to family restaurants to elegant, upscale settings. Noise levels were measured and averaged over one-hour time periods between 6 and 10 P.M.
The researchers found that average noise levels ranged between 50 and 90 decibels on the "A' scale (dBA). Normal conversation is about 45-50 dB. More importantly, the highest noise levels averaged about 110 dBA, while some peak noise levels actually reached more than 140 dBA-well beyond the tolerance level of any listener.
The family restaurants were significantly quieter than the bar/restaurant settings. The "elegant, upscale" restaurant was the quietest setting by far-about 20 dB quieter than the other restaurants.
Noise and hearing loss prevention. Listen to the sounds.
Movie theaters are normally in the 80 to 100 dB range.
According to the New York Times News Service the film Godzilla from 1998 reached 115 dB when Godzilla got strafed by jets. When Godzilla found its murdered baby the sound level reaches an ear-shattering 118 dB. The facts are reported in the magazine The Hearing Review.
An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer states that the sound level in the first 12 rows of a movie theatre were as high as 104 dB in the blockbuster film "Return of the Jedi".
Hearing Loss Coming to a Theater Near You
Article from Hear-It.org
A level of a normal conversation is about 65 dB. In most countries, a sustained noise level of 85 dB over eight hours a day in, for example, your work place is considered the upper safe noise limit in most countries. In the US, however, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, still operates on the basis of a safe upper noise level significantly higher at 90dB.
Here are some common daily noise levels as listed by the San Francisco based HEAR (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers - H.E.A.R.)
SoundsMusic
Restaurants Bring In da Noise to Keep Out da Nerds
By Andrea Petersen
12/30/1997
The Wall Street Journal
Copyright (c) 1997, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
If it seems like most trendy restaurants are serving up deafening disco music, table-shaking techno and throbbing "drum 'n' bass" alongside $30 plates of seared tuna these days, it isn't just your grumpy imagination.
Restaurants catering to scene-conscious Generation Xers have moved disk jockeys from the dance floor into the dining room, cranked up the volume and picked up the beat. They say the noise makes their places vibrant and hip. And commercial motives are also at play: Ear-splitting techno keeps out the frumpy over 30 crowd -- and makes diners eat faster. That means more "table turns" in a night -- and more revenue.
Restaurants "do it to get people agitated so they eat faster, talk more, drink more," says Stephanie Coulter, special events coordinator at BoKaos in Beverly Hills, Calif., where patrons jam to funk between bites of Chilean sea bass. While she denies that her restaurant tries to get patrons dancing out the door, she concedes that, "The faster the music, the younger the crowd."
Creating all that restaurant noise is big business. Companies like AEI Music of Seattle provide thousands of restaurants with music to attract customers and get them to spend more. Even Seattle-based Muzak LP, once synonymous with soothing elevator music, now offers disco and rock. "You pick up the tempo to get people to eat quickly and get out quickly and use a slower tempo to make people linger," says AEI spokeswoman Judith Berrett.
That phenomenon has scientific backup. In a study conducted at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn., fast- and slow-paced music was piped into the school's cafeteria on alternating days while researchers counted the bites taken by unsuspecting diners. The results, published in the Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society: People chew an average of 4.4 bites a minute to fast music and only 3.83 bites a minute when the music is slow.
Some chains have even used volume as a method of crowd control. When the original Hard Rock Cafe opened in London to packed houses and long lines, the proprietors concede they cranked up the music to drive people out. (That practice has stopped, they say.)
All of the nine Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grills have fully computerized sound systems that automatically play faster and louder songs at the times of the day when the restaurant wants to turn more tables.
How it happens and what to do.
Everything you'd ever want to know about decibels.
With significant hearing loss and/or tinnitus.
Extensive information on hearing impairment and its causes.
Hearing Loss Hits Aging Baby Boomers
You're not alone.
It's a loud, loud, loud, loud, world
Noise is everywhere.
Do-it-yourself on-disk training program to improve your listening (not your hearing).
Noise Control Regulations in Napa County
Interior, exterior, prohibited noises and exemptions.
Fighting the battle for a quieter America.
Good neighbors keep their noise to themselves.
Restaurants Bring In da Noise to Keep Out da Nerds
Why restaurateurs like loud noise.
Restaurant noise can exceed federal workplace standards
Article on UCSF study
Restaurant noise, hearing loss, and hearing aids.
Multidisciplinary team obtained noise data in 27 San Francisco Bay Area restaurants. From the Western Journal of Medicine.
Noise and Hearing Conservation
From OSHA
Noise Control Strategies for Startup Restaurateurs
Excellent article with extensive information and suggestions.
Codes, standards, tips and considerations.