4 ms·

In NYC the screeching of the subway trains at the station is easily loud enough to be physically painful to my ears. Especially in underground local stations wh

In NYC the screeching of the subway trains at the station is easily loud enough to be physically painful to my ears. Especially in underground local stations where you have a local train arriving + express trains rolling past. That can be 90-100 decibels (equivalent to a jet engine taking off 300m away). Restaurants here are regularly 70-90 decibels. Equivalent to the noise of a blender next to you. Everything in the restaurant reflects sound and its not unusual to be sitting about 2 feet from the person at the table next to you. I’m genuinely worried for my long-term hearing living here. Noise-cancelling headphones and even ear plugs are a must.

paulcole 7y ago
What decibel meter are you using to get those readings? Seems insane that the loudest restaurant is equivalent to a jet engine taking off.
- leetcrew 7y ago
  small, busy restaurants without sound deadening can be really loud, but I doubt it's actually 90dB. that's like the opening band at a small music venue.
  - udfalkso 7y ago
    It’s a real phenomenon. Most restaurants aren’t quite that high but there are a surprisingly large amount that are. I’m the cofounder of an app that crowd sources noise levels at bars and restaurants. You may find it useful. It’s called SoundPrint.
- fancyfish 7y ago
  I am in a restaurant now, a midsize place doing brunch, and my Apple Watch is recording 80 decibels. It would be louder if I were at a table but I’m off to the side at the bar. I enjoyed this article, albeit it’s from 2012: “Working or Playing Indoors, New Yorkers Face an Unabated Roar” (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/nyregion/in-new-york-city-indoor-noise-goes-unabated.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/nyregion/in-new-york-city...) For more reading, there are articles for various cities linked at the bottom of this NIH page: https://www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov/have-you-heard/noise-levels-restaurants https://www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov/have-you-heard/noise-l...

paulcole 7y ago

What decibel meter are you using to get those readings? Seems insane that the loudest restaurant is equivalent to a jet engine taking off.

leetcrew 7y ago
small, busy restaurants without sound deadening can be really loud, but I doubt it's actually 90dB. that's like the opening band at a small music venue.
- udfalkso 7y ago
  It’s a real phenomenon. Most restaurants aren’t quite that high but there are a surprisingly large amount that are. I’m the cofounder of an app that crowd sources noise levels at bars and restaurants. You may find it useful. It’s called SoundPrint.
fancyfish 7y ago
I am in a restaurant now, a midsize place doing brunch, and my Apple Watch is recording 80 decibels. It would be louder if I were at a table but I’m off to the side at the bar. I enjoyed this article, albeit it’s from 2012: “Working or Playing Indoors, New Yorkers Face an Unabated Roar” (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/nyregion/in-new-york-city-indoor-noise-goes-unabated.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/nyregion/in-new-york-city...) For more reading, there are articles for various cities linked at the bottom of this NIH page: https://www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov/have-you-heard/noise-levels-restaurants https://www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov/have-you-heard/noise-l...