Dining establishments are an essential part of the social experience. However, they are often characterized by high levels of background noise, which represents a barrier to effective communication. This particularly affects people suffering from hearing problems. Moreover, noise level exceeding normal conversational levels causes a phenomenon called the Lombard Effect, an involuntary tendency to increase the amount of vocal effort when talking in the presence of noise. Adults over 60 years represent the second largest population in the US and the majority of them suffer from some degree of hearing loss. The primary aim of the current study was to understand the effect of noise on vocal effort and speech intelligibility in a restaurant setting for adults over 60 years old with and without hearing loss. The secondary aim was to evaluate their perception of disturbance in communication and their willingness to spend time and money in a restaurant was affected by the varying levels of background noise. The results of this study showed background noise levels lower than 50 dB(A) will allow senior customers to minimize their vocal effort and to maximize their understanding of conversations, even for those with moderate to severe hearing loss. By setting a limit, it will also keep perceived disturbance low and willingness to spend time and money high among dining patrons.
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