Post

It's always the music, but sometimes it's the music and the alcohol that's already been served and consumed.

Tom Sietsema, The Post’s food critic for the past 24 years, began recording and publishing decibel levels, which is a scientific measure of sound intensity, in restaurants in his reviews in 2008 in response to reader feedback. More than a decade later, the problem persists.

Why restaurants are so loud, and what science says we can do about itwww.washingtonpost.com Complaints about noise continue to dominate restaurant reviews. Here’s what experts say about how sound affects our bodies and what we can do to mitigate it.