Hearing loss, beginning in midlife, is virtually inevitable in noisy societies. Some attributes of hearing deficits are not correctable, such as loss of responsiveness to high and low frequencies. Men tend to sustain more hearing deficits than women, and do so at earlier ages, and hearing decline is usually more rapid in the right ear—maybe because that is the telephone ear for most people.
Loss of sensitivity to tones in the higher ranges results in a fusion of sounds. Amplification of sound in such instances only amplifies the resulting confusion. Poor acoustics in restaurants and other public accommodation spaces can increase both physiological and psychological stress to the point that a discomfited customer will never return.
I once had a meeting with a woman at a conference who was accompanied by her husband. Both Peggy and Joe appeared to be their late 50s, maybe early 60s. I suggested we meet in the hotel cocktail lounge. Peggy thought that was fine, being the end of the day as it were, but Joe said he would just sit in the lobby and read. As we waited for our drink order, I jokingly asked Peggy, "Doesn’t Joe know that the sun is over the yardarm?"
"Yes, but he usually only has a drink at home. We don’t go out much anymore. We have even forsaken our favorite restaurant we’ve gone to for years. Joe says the service has gotten lousier. Says he likes the service at home better."
"Peggy, has Joe shown any signs of hearing problems lately?" I asked.
Her eyes lit up with wonder, "Yes, but what made you ask that?"
I explained that as people begin experiencing hearing loss, it is not uncommon to see changes in behavior. Decreased sensitivity to frequencies at both ends of the sound spectrum reduces the acoustical equivalent of visual depth perception. It gets harder for the brain to sort out sources of sound. This agitates the brain because its primary mission is to protect its owner from harm. When it can’t clearly locate the source of a sound, it senses potential for danger. So the brain starts gearing up for possible imminent threat. It revs up the heartbeat, triggers the flow of adrenaline and other hormones, tightens the muscles, and generates other changes that might be required for fight-or-flight responses.
"Meanwhile," I said after explaining this to Peggy, "when Joe is trying to have a conversation in a noisy environment, he will have trouble fully concentrating because his brain has taken control of much of his body’s resources that would be needed in some jeopardizing emergency. Joe doesn’t know what his brain is doing, but he does know that he’s getting irritated, which starts building on itself. Believe it or not, research shows that when people with hearing loss enter a noisy environment, they may show symptoms of mild paranoia. So, Peggy, your favorite restaurant probably makes Joe feel a little paranoid and he responds by staying home to have his drink."
Peggy was astonished. "I’ve noticed that Joe often gets a little bit edgy when we go out, but I never associated it with his hearing loss. I sometimes joke with him when he asks me several times to repeat something that I’m going to get him a hearing aid. I guess I should get more serious about that."
Loud restaurants and booming movie soundtracks may be to young people’s liking, but it turns away older people, especially men. This is one way in which aging boomers will be different from previous generations of older people. Boomers were the first generation of youth to grow up thinking no music could ever be too loud. Numerous studies have shown that excessively loud music accelerates the onset of hearing problems. "At least 15 percent of American teenagers have permanently lost some hearing. That’s about the same percentage you would find among people between 45 and 65."
Given that many restaurants, watering holes, and movie venues cannot expect any real sales growth among 25-to-44-year-olds in this decade because their numbers are falling, their operators would do well to try and figure out how they can lower sound in their establishments without turning away young people. Can these industries afford to ignore the fact that many aging boomers—currently the biggest hope for sales growth in many categories—will be avoiding loud places like my friend Peggy’s husband Joe does?
Another problem marketers face in aging markets concerns the practice of presenting television and radio commercials in time-compressed formats. The slowing central nervous system cannot process the sound itself, much less the meanings conveyed by the sound, as fast as younger central nervous systems can. Both sensory and cognitive processes slow down with age. Another problem is that the aging mind may experience difficulty following the message in commercials in which the voice-over competes with background sounds or parallel messages. Finally, as with visual acuity, quick cuts in sound messages can result in generating confusion rather than getting a customer’s interested attention to a commercial.