New app reveals Baltimore’s quietest and loudest

Daily Record Staff//May 7, 2018//

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Baltimore-based Hearing and Speech Agency has partnered with New York-based mobile application developer SoundPrint to determine the average decibel levels of a restaurant so customers can determine the best spots for conversation.

The SoundPrint app allows customers to use a real-time sound meter to take a 15-second reading of the decibel level of a restaurant or bar. The crowdsourced readings make up a sound profile for each venue. (File photo)

SoundPrint founder Scott was inspired to create the app after finding other consumer review sites lacked accuracy in sound readings, which made it difficult at times to hear while visiting a restaurant.

Erin Stauder, executive director of HASA, said one of the organization’s goals was to help provide another resource for diners who may be hard of hearing or others who simply want an environment that’s conducive to conversation. Stauder said people who are hard of hearing tend to avoid going out to restaurants and the organization sees the app as a way to help these individuals enjoy the social event of dining out without having to worry about noise level.

The app, available in the Apple app store, allows customers to use a real-time sound meter to take a 15-second reading of the decibel level of a restaurant or bar. The crowdsourced readings make up a sound profile for each venue. Users can filter restaurants based on how loud or quiet they are, much like you’d use filters to search for a restaurant on Yelp.

Several hundred sound readings were taken across neighborhoods in Baltimore in April following the app’s soft launch. This data makes up Baltimore’s “Quiet List” and “Loud List,” of individual restaurants, as well as the quietest and loudest neighborhoods.

SoundPrint’s “Quiet List”