When accessibility is not inclusive: The case of loud restaurants

Alt: An orange loudspeaker on an orange wall. Photo by Oleg Laptev on Unsplash.

The other day I came across a Washington Post article by Joyce Cohen, who argues that restaurant noise is a form of discrimination against those with hearing impairments. As someone who has a hearing impairment, is an accessibility advocate, and counts eating out as his single biggest expense after rent, the headline alone hit a trifecta of interests. “This ought to be good”, I thought, as I dived right in.

I have previously talked about the difficulties I face in social situations, so the article particularly resonated with me. Ms. Cohen paints a well-researched picture of the difficulty having a conversation in loud restaurants, particularly for those with hearing impairments. However, I was more than a little let down by the potential solutions discussed. The bottom line seems to be to turn down the amplified sound, whether by requesting the restaurant personally (often denied or ignored), or through legal means such as filing an official complaint (resulting in, at best, an injunction).

But here’s the thing — people have different preferences. Some people go to a restaurant, pub, or a club for the food and conversation, others may go for the “vibe”. I’ve been to spots where I’d walk in to a murmur of a conversation and the gentle clinking of forks and knives, and I’d turn to my friends and go, “Well this place looks dead. Let’s go somewhere else.” Mind you, this is coming from a guy who often has to resort to nodding and smiling in loud pubs because I can barely follow a conversation.

A blanket order to restaurants to turn down the volume amounts to catering to one group over the other, which is neither fair to customers nor businesses. Inclusiveness needs to be for everyone, not just for one group of people. Think about it this way — a ramp doesn’t just let someone in a wheelchair access their destination. It is hailed for inclusiveness precisely because it makes the destination accessible to everyone. Does the ability to have a conversation in restaurants have to be at the cost of sacrificing an upbeat ambiance? Of course not! Accessibility should not be at the expense of sacrificing the user experience of others.

This is why I’m such a strong proponent of inclusive design. This brilliant methodology not only makes products and services accessible, it doesn’t do so at the cost of sacrificing the user experience. In fact, it makes the experience better for everyone, no matter the users’ ability. Inclusive design’s mantra is “Solve for one, extend to many”. Could we apply this mantra to the case of loud restaurants? Realistically, it will be difficult. But not bothering with trivial details such as “realistic” has served me rather well so far.

So, how can we make a noisy restaurant more accessible for those with hearing impairments while not sacrificing the experience for others who like the n̶o̶i̶s̶e̶ ambiance? Here are some practical, some out-there ideas:

1. Quiet(er) areas: Most mid-to-large sized restaurants have multiple seating sections, sometimes partitioned, other times in different rooms or floors entirely. I should mention that this observation is not based on data but just my personal (although rather considerable) experience as a foodie. Making one or more of these separate sections as a “quiet” area may not be out of the realm of possibility. Sound-absorbing acoustic panels, curtains and carpets have existed for a long time now, aren’t exactly an extravagant luxury, and not particularly difficult to install. Patrons could request or reserve seating in these areas, where the background music could be turned down to a low and pleasant ambient sound, if not turned off entirely.
2. Hearables: Work on hearable tech has steadily picked up pace since the unfortunate demise of the wonderful Doppler, and early models of wireless earpods which let you control ambient noise are already in the market. I dream of a day when hearables would be advanced enough to turn down ambient noise and turn up voice at the exact moment someone next to you starts speaking (a la Indian soap operas). Restaurant employees who are constantly exposed to the loud noise would benefit from this too. I should add that quality of the tech alone is not good enough, it will need to be affordable as well. If not, perhaps the hearables could be sold directly to restaurants in bulk with modifiable eartips included, where customers could request them as needed. Hey, if it can be done for 3-D glasses in theatres, why not for hearables in restaurants?
3. Google Glass 2.0: This is the most out-there idea, but also one that has been on my wish list since when my parents bought me my first hearing aid. How cool would it be if you could wear inconspicuous AR glasses that show you live captions whenever someone next to you speaks? I can only hope the Canadian smart glass company North is listening. Microsoft, Google, and one of my favorite startups Otter.ai have already shown that AI-based live captioning can become good enough to replace human captionists. Maintaining that accuracy in loud restaurants will be a final boss-level challenge, but I refuse to believe this game can’t be beaten. While we’re at it, maybe throw in live captions based on lip reading? Granted, considering that AI only recently learned to tell apart a dog from a cat, that last bit may be a ways away.

There’s no doubt that the ability to converse comfortably in a loud restaurant would benefit everyone, but I’m not in favor of a diktat ordering all restaurants to turn down the music. This merely addresses a symptom, not the cause (next, someone will ask to turn down the music in a club). But if we approach this problem through the principles of inclusive design, we all will be better off for it.