Restaurants that play heavy rock load have lost my business just because the waiter could not hear my order. That was the last time there. When I am eating it is very nice to listen to mellow instrumental music however they still insist on having someone sing which makes it hard to dine and talk.

Funny thing is that overly loud restaurants were never "a thing" for me until I was in my mid 60s. So is it my hearing going down the tubes (a fact) or is the noise level really higher? It does, however, always amaze me that people would go to a restaurant with live music at the cost of no conversation with the people one is with. When people come to my house for dinner we never turn the music up so loud conversation is impossible. Does anybody?

I carry earplugs everywhere I go. I have been known to use them in some restaurants.

It depends on where you go. Some are.

They certainly are where I live. I think its mostly due to hard furnishings and bare hard walls reflecting and re-reflecting the sounds. If a resturant had a tv on I would not go in and if they put it on during my meal, I would refuse to pay for anything more than the materials used to make the meal.

no. they have always been too loud.

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Yes they are. There are places I will not support due to noise levels. Even when I spoke to the manager, in one case, about hanging noise baffles, it fell on deaf ears. Wait! Did I just type that? ?

Depends on the the acoustics in the space.

Many of them are, & even if the food is top notch, I don't want to eat there.

It really bothers me if I'm out with a group and can't hear conversations at the table