Noise noise everywhere

I must be the opposite as nothing really bothers me! I don’t have problem with music in shops! I love my music at home always do my housework to music! I’m not fond though of people shouting into their phones! But that’s about it

I'm sitting in my city garden in the sunshine listening to birdsong, along with the low hum of traffic and the odd emergency siren. I like peace and quiet as much as the next person but city sounds seem to escape my notice. It all depends on what you get used to. During lockdown it was deadly silent and I found that eerie as although peaceful I knew that it was at a cost to people's livelihoods.

I've been in deepest Somerset these past few days - now that was silent!

Like many I get annoyed at people yakking on their mobiles in an enclosed space - it's so selfish, whereas city soundscape is just other people going about their daily business.

I was very pleased after lockdown was lifting to hear children playing in the nearby school playground. It gives me fond memories when my children were there.
I have recently noticed the increased planes going over that I didn't miss though.

Good grief lighten up vintagelady when you hear noise you know you’re alive and kicking
It s pretty quiet in the ground I reckon

I cringe sometimes when out for a cup of coffee with friends and children are running around screaming their heads off.

I live near Heathrow and a military airport but 99% of the time it is like living in the middle of a large empty field.

Why people cannot use headphones is beyond me and I have said to one or two that I do not share their Godawful music,
I loathe going out for a cup of coffee where the "background" music is so loud I cannot hear what my friend is saying.

I can't bear a lot of noise, although to a certain extent, I've acclimatised to it, since my very loud DGS lives with me. Sometimes though, my ears ring with noise. It is almost painful.

Juliet27

I’ve just bought a Fridge magnet that says ‘The need of quiet, the need of air’ ^Octavia Hill^

I love that. There are times when that is definitely exactly what I need.

I may be a grumpy old woman, well I’m sure I am, but I’ve always disliked noise.
I never have the radio on in the car, unless my journey coincides with The Archers, I have radio 4 on very quietly at home.
My husband used to enjoy going to gigs, but I couldn’t stand the noise.
I find our open plan office hard going, and am always happy when some of the noisiest people are off.
We have our daughter and young grandchildren living with us, and the worst thing is the constant noise, no more quiet mornings and evenings, constant television, computer games, and of course the younger ones yelling at each other.
I really love the sound of silence.

I don’t mind most of it and always have the radio on, it helps block my tinnitus.
I did dislike it last year when our neighbour was repeatedly turning his motorbike over and over, I had a word.

I must be a grumpy too.
I’m happy to work,sit, walk, drive shop eat in silence. Conversation s fine.
DH and I have to compromise on a long car journey . He has the radio on low some of the time and I wear earplugs.
I enjoy music but like to listen to what I like when I like. I turn the TV on when there is something I fancy watching and then I am happy to turn it off. No need for continuous background noise.

Do we become more noise sensitive as we age? I’ve definitely noticed that.

I was. In hospital for a few days recently and certainly earned the title of grumpy old woman. Six beds and five of them on the phone constantly. One women waved the nurse away who was trying to change a drip, mouthing ‘I am on the phone go away!’ Another at 11 pm was having a long inane conversation with a loved one and had the phone on load speaker. After repeating a hundred times ‘I know, I know’ I rather impolitely told her to stop. They all looked at me in amazement.

On the rare occasion I go to the cinema I have to wear earplugs because the volume is so loud. Is everyone deaf these days? The TV background music makes it impossible to understand the mumbled speech of the actors. Over the Easter weekend, just lovely weather to sit in ths garden and listen to the birds but whey hay, a motor bike convention nearby and a constant stream of ancient bikes blasted us out. I would think all the nesting birds have abandoned us.

It’s always been like it. I like it. After the last two years, it’s nice to hear ‘life’ again.

Why do workmen have to have loud music on? Is it because their arms and legs won't work without it.

I agree OakDryad non stop house renovations must be an absolute pain in the arse for those who live on older roads.

And another grumpy git.

Me too. Can't stand too much noise. It's one of the reasons I chose to live here, - it's so quiet and peaceful. Just the birds singing and the rooks cawing, - and the occasional sound of lawn mowers in the summer. It's a little bit of heaven here.

I dislike noise too and it used to drive me crazy, until I started meditating during yoga. It has helped me to to meet the noise rather than put up a barrier that the noise knocks down. I didn’t realise that it was helping me until an incident on a train trip a few weeks ago when a couple of young guys were playing a video on a phone. The video was a lot of inane laughing and was loud but I wasn’t particularly bothered by it although they were sitting in the same row. A youngish woman started screaming at them to have some consideration and turn it off or put headphones on. One of the youths replied that they had to put up with her talking on her phone and they could hear her from 4 rows back. They would be happy to turn it off if I had complained to them. My response (part of which came from something another GN had posted that week) “our journey together is a short one, you don’t know other’s pain. You are young and young people do everything noisily, videos or phone calls, you can do as this woman has demanded and you will be the bigger people or you can ignore her and get off the train angry and carry that anger for the next couple of hours.” They turned the sound down. When we got off the train my husband said that he didn’t recognise the person who could now tolerate noise!
Try guided meditation it may work for you too.

Yes grumpy old woman here I love to see and hear people enjoying themselves. My pet hate is the constant talk of someone behind on the rare occasion I use public transport.

Roadworks of some kind: cabling, gas works etc. Someone is always drilling up the roads. Add in what sometimes feels like constant domestic building noise. As soon as one house comes to the end of long “improvement” project, another one starts. Builders don’t seem to be able to lay a brick without a radio blarring out thumping music beside them. I suspect lawnmowers and strimmers are the human equivalent of a dog whistle. Once one starts they all start. Sod’s law says if you take a book to the park hoping for some peace, it’ll be the day they're cutting the grass. Or if it’s Sunday, the park is full of shouty, sweary footballers. I know these things need to get done or happen, I have to cut my lawns too, it takes around 20 minutes, but some days it can feel impossible to escape other people’s noise. Recently, desperate for some peace, I took a book to a village churchyard and found a bench among the gravestones. The only sound was birdsong. Bliss.

Another moan - people who drive around blasting music from car stereos. There is one person who regularly drives down the road here who has the base so loud that you hear the thump thump thump even before he turns into the road!

Another G O L here. I have to work really hard to acknowledge that other people need to cut the grass, trim the hedge etc, and avoid going into town like the plague.
I have been known to go shopping on Boxing Day just for the joy of being in a supermarket without the Christmas music!

Another grumpy old woman here. I hate the excessive noise, why do people using mobile phones have to shout, why do shops feel it necessary to blast out "music" which must drive the assistants crazy having to listen to it all day.

However one lot of noise I am always happy to hear is a neighbours children laughing and playing in the garden - yes sometimes they shout but there can be no better "noise" than the laughter of children

I feel your pain. I too dislike all the music played seemingly everywhere these days. Even at home, sitting quietly enjoying the peace, DH comes in a switches the tv on. He likes background noise!
That being said, we went for lunch to a local pub recently and there was no music. It was very refreshing, just the conversation of the other diners.

Oh I'm not bothered by background noise (learned to ignore it after having 2 very noisy boys?). Also, I can't bear to have a silent house or car journey - always have the radio or music on.