It’s not just people with hearing loss that have a tough time enjoying conversation in noisy restaurants.

Certainly, folks who don’t hear well have an especially difficult time hearing conversation when the sound level is high, but even those with perfect hearing find it a strain to hear and be heard when the acoustic environment is noisy and reverberant.

The tide may be turning.  In the past, it seemed to be a badge of “cool” for a restaurant to have a sonic pandemonium that spilled out into the street.  But, as reported this week in the New York Times, restaurant architects are listening to customers’ requests, and with their greater understanding of acoustics, are creating listening environments that allow conversation to take place more comfortably.

They are creating the soundscape that they want.  They have found that if the sounds are too muffled, then every spoon clink may be a distraction.  But, as is more often the case, if the sounds are amplified by lots of hard reflective surfaces, then comfortable conversation is impossible.

Restaurant designers have become more precise and scientific, working to create areas of talk at each table without losing the sound sensation of activity that makes to room feel alive.  There needs to be a balance of soft and hard components, and the right mix of bass and treble.

One New York architect describes it like this:  “You want to amplify the good noise and reduce the bad noise.”  He describes bad noise as the tinny high-pitched squall that moves through the restaurant.  Good noise is not just the audible conversation at each table, but the pulse of excitement from the front and back of the room.  Conversation should be easily audible but there can still be a “buzz.”  The idea is to make it a really comfortable acoustic environment.

How is this goal attained?  In a variety of very high-tech and very low-tech ways – ranging from combining specific sound absorbing materials in strategic places with visually pleasing but more reflective materials, to sound systems that place tiny microphones and speakers throughout the restaurant with software that then controls the noise levels, to instructing the staff not to clink the forks when placing them on the table.

So – if you have a hearing loss, live with someone who does, or, just are tired of yelling during your dinner date, choose a restaurant that has been thoughtfully designed.