I do enjoy silence first thing in the morning. But then after about an hour I listen to rocking CDs.

I wish I could have silence again but likely not till I die. The horror of tinnitus is with me constantly with no relief or break. For that reason I usually have something on like the TV and lots of fans to help neutralize the ringing. I envy those who can enjoy the silence. My husband doesn't understand, it's very hard to imagine unless you are going through it. My mom used to grab her head with both hands and say Lord please stop the noise! I totally understand that. My sister has it really bad too.

Enjoy the sounds of silence while you can!

I used to enjoy playing classical music during the day. I don't care for the voice of the current host on our NPR station so I seldom turn it on. I do sometimes play CD's from my collection.

Never turn on the TV until Jeopardy time (4:30 PM). Other TV is either PBS or a very few other programs with the sound off and captioning on. Nobody but me to please these days! I have developed an absolute hatred of most commercials. Silence seldom bothers me.

Listening to my tv music channel right now: Easy Listening and right now and playing is Love is a many splendored thing. Weekends I generally have tv music on during the day.

Not a radio listener in the car, don't know when I have turned it on.

Mornings my wake up is music from local college. Much better than being jolted awake by an alarm.

The only time I like music is in the car. I'd rather hear nature or nothing, I absolutely cannot stand to hear other people's music! I'm very picky about music and don't like anything that I hear others listening to. Bothers the heck out of me to hear the kids with the loud bass hammering down the road! I enjoy sitting outside but am always run off by lawn equipment roaring in the neighborhood.

I never turn on a radio or listen to music and I seldom watch television during the day. To me it is distracting and I can't get as much done. If I had nothing to do, I might turn something on.

Sue

I like my silence. I turn the TV on only if I'm cooking or baking. This is a throw back for when I worked and listened to the news while fixing dinner. I don't like to cook anyway so now when I start moving around in the kitchen I think I need to be listening to TV.

I never have music on and I might turn on CNN during the day if something is going on and these days it's all Donald Trump so it's staying off. :) When I start making dinner I will turn on the news. Fortunately we do have quiet neighbours. I am the eldest of 6 kids born in 8 years and probably because of that and all the resultant noise and chaos, I do love my quiet.

If I'm home alone, I rarely have anything on. And no music outdoors, although I do know several with outside speakers, they just aren't important to me. The master bedroom end of this house has built in sound and speakers added, I never use it. (don't even get me started on contractors who must work in the neighborhood to music ;))

When DH is home, different story. He turns at least one of the televisions on to either sports of some kind/any kind or one of the news stations whether he's watching it or not.

I do listen to Sirius radio in my car, the oldies stations keyed into my settings. I admit to singing along too....

I agree with you 100%, both my DH and I can easily sit together in a room without any noise. He likes to read, I like to fidget on my laptop or ipad. Our dog is also calmer when it's quiet. I love listening to the outdoors, especially in the morning when we are waking up. We seldom turn on the tv until an hour or two before bed. I turn on Pandora sometimes while I'm cleaning but that's about it. I also find other peoples music to be annoying, luckily the neighbors with out door speakers don't use them often. We have a noise ordinance that I think I'd probably take advantage of if they did though. My biggest pet peeve is when a car pulls up with their bass blowing so hard the car vibrates. Argh! People who do that IMO are idiots. I actually find driving with music to be distracting. I didn't used to, but in my previous car, the radio broke and I never fixed it. After a while, I noticed how much better I could hear emergency vehicles and now I'm sure the reason someone doesn't pull over very quickly is because their music is so loud they can't hear the sirens.

I like it quiet too. TV is rarely turned on during the day. I do like music while driving though.

I like the quiet. I only turn on the television when I'm going to watch a specific program. I only listen to music in the car or occasionally indoors when I'm occupied with some onerous task and need the accompaniment to keep working.

I recently received a free two-month Sirius subscription and I don't like it at all. I can't find a station that plays music I want to hear and all the station have someone yakking at one time or another. Even the interruption to say, "you're listening to Sirius radio," is annoying to me.

I hate going into someone's house for a visit and have them leave the television on. I know it's their house, but the noise from the television is distracting and so unnecessary. I feel like such a grump when I ask if we can turn the television off.

Like Raven, I too suffer from Tinnitus, so I must always have some type of background noise. During the day it's the tv and at night two fans. I also must have the perfect balance of background sound as too much will cause my tinnitus to roar even more and too little will drive me nuts as well. There is an episode of Seinfeld where one of the characters suffers from Tinnitus and says "Will somebody answer that damn phone!". I wish I could :)

Most times, yes. But more often, I have the tv on to a nature video, muted; and have my stereo (aka computer) playing bird sounds. I must have white noise on most of the time., so -- fans, birdsong, ocean waves, etc.

I just deleted a really long, boring essay of a response. Summary: It's loud in the city anyway. Even the birds are loud. I find music distracting because I can't not hear and listen to it, but I can tune out TV, and often play it as "aural wallpaper" when I'm alone. I don't like noise on when I'm trying to have a conversation. A conversation at the ballpark is fine, but I hate shouting over the game on the radio, or any TV or music. Music is good for cooking to, and I'll put on holiday playlists when cooking for feasts, to put me in the mood, but TV really isn't all that visual, and I can follow pretty well while working and not watching. It keeps me company and makes boring chores like sorting laundry more bearable.

Other than the TWEETING birds, however, who do their thing just before and after dawn, the "nature" is construction, rattling trucks, jet planes, band practice, barking dogs, wailing babies, schoolyard PA system (screech, moan, scratch), children playing at the school (a nice sound), sirens, horns, ice cream truck (old fashioned one with a single melody that drifts to my house over and over and over from his entire route). I'm grateful for good hearing, but also just as glad to have aural wallpaper. Right this very moment, however, the loudest sound is the fan on my computer and the tippy tap of my keys. There are airbrakes puffing in the distance, the occasional bang of steel plates, and the basic drone of highway noise, but there are no helicopters or jets, and it's too hot for yardwork, so I'm enjoying the relative silence this morning.

I like the quiet also, I sit out on my back porch early in the morning and listen to the birds waking up. There's also the distant roar of the interstate, but I'm able to tune out most that I don't want to hear.

We are pretty close to a joint reserve base so we always have the 'Big Wind' Chinooks and C140s (I think) and the ones that I call the zippies, the super loud fighters. Those cannot be ignored so conversation always has to pause until they are past us.

My husband has the tv on all the time, usually 60s shows or classic tv. We sleep with the tv on :-) I can't tell you how many times 'Hazel' has awakened me at 6:00. Something about her voice. I watch Nat Geo Wild, Animal Planet, HGTV or DIY for the most part, but hardly turn on the other TVs. Treadmill time calls for DIY tv.

Radio in the car, I like alternative rock.

The radio is on all the time, and the tv only when we want to watch it. There's no absolute quiet here, the city buses run by our place regularly, and our street has a lot of traffic. We do sit out on the balcony though and enjoy the trees, squirrels and people walking their dogs. And hubby loves using the little indoor grill/griddle on the balcony.

I thought I was alone in the world wanting QUIET in my house and yard. Lately DH has been turning on the TV as soon as his feet hit the floor, loud. I almost live in our office, where there is all kins of electronic music, walls of books, cassette tapes, CDs, all of music....and my desk with my computer. But it is quiet.

I LOVE quiet. At my daughters is always children music playing... and I usually can't wait to get home. I can do the 8 hour drive in silence!

I have the TV on in the evening when I wash dishes, and "watch the news", and most times that is it.

I do at times like noise, but overall I am like Seniorgal and

Silence seldom bothers me.

Moni

I love peace and quiet too. Your neighbors would drive me nuts, CAflower. I like to sit out on my porch and hear the birds and the wind in the trees. The horse farm nearby used to have some workers who played country music on a tinny radio in the horse barns all day; that was not pleasant.

I have tinnitus, but mine sounds like tape hiss. I'm not aware of it all the time--just at night, or when I think about it. I've been more aware of it the past couple of days, so I hope it's not getting worse.

I don't watch a lot of TV, although I usually turn it on at 6:30 so I can cook dinner and eat it while listening to or watching the news, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy. The amateur radio towers on my property eliminated radio reception except through my computer. I could stream NPR, but rarely think to do so. Sometimes I'll play a concert on YouTube if the urge strikes me, or play some of my favorite artists on Pandora, but mostly it's pretty quiet around here.

I enjoy many kinds of music and have some playing much of the time. I love my birds in the early morning and evening though. And I don't usually play anything in the car, though one of our local public radio stations airs lots of really good jazz and I'll often tune in to see who's playing.

Music is only a car ride listen. At home, I like opening the windows and listening to the hummingbirds scold and chase each other. The rare rain off of the roof is nice, too. While working on a home project, though, I turn on the TV to whatever home improvement show is running. Not really to pay any attention to the show, but it then sounds as if I have a crew helping me. Somehow, that seems to make the task easier. I take all of the credit for the finished project though, because those guys don't get much done. :)

Uh oh. Apparently I'm the type that annoys others.

Quiet only means my own mind won't shut up!! I always prefer background noise.

T.V. preferably, voices I can tune out as background noise and actually get work done.

If I'm listening to music, I get nothing done b/c I'm fully involved in the music. I dance, sing along, etc. The rare times that I get to be in my car alone, I have music blaring, car vibrating.

When it is completely silent, my mind won't stop. It takes me hours to fall asleep if the room is silent. If I put on the t.v., I can ignore the background noise and fall asleep. I've been this way my entire life.

My poor husband. There have been numerous times where I'm working on a chore, dishes, laundry, gardening, etc and there is no background noise.

When he comes in and says something I snap at him. Then I have to explain that I'm not angry at him but in the silence my brain started automatically replaying and going over the last conflict I had (work, kids, family, etc) and I get so frustrated and angry.

IF I have something I need to solve, then silence is an absolute must, it allows me to fully concentrate. In day to day life however, silence is maddening.

For those of you with tinnitis, did you know that they have tinnitis blockers? Here's a link that describes them. Tiny and effective. Love mine.http://www.starkey.com/hearing-aids/technologies/xino-tinnitus

I never turn on a tv or radio. Give me the sounds of nature....birds singing, squirrels chattering, tree frogs singing, etc. Love those night sounds too. Hubby will put the tv on to get the weather and news, then of course fall asleep while that danged thing is blaring. He watches some detective type shows at night. Car radio is never on. We need to be able to hear sirens.

I never realized I was a quiet person until I had a roommate who could not be awake without having *something* playing. Fortunately, DH is also happy with silence.

If I'm driving, I will turn on the car radio/CD player -- partly because it has a great sound system, and partly because I like mostly classical music -- and louder than DH wants any music. I'll sometimes listen to FM for a while at night before going to sleep.

We watch only news, Jeopardy and PBS on TV. We often watch an hour of a DVD in the afternoon.

Playing and listening to music are two of my greatest passions. When I listen to music, I turn it up loud and it's usually a solitary activity (because I pay close attention). So-called background music drives me bonkers. If I can't hear it well enough to follow what's on, or if something else is going on interrupting my concentration, it's an annoying tease.

When home, I only listen to music when doing so isn't being anti-social, so that's typically if I'm home alone or when whoever else is here is busy with their own activities. I have speakers outside and that's the one place where I keep the volume intentionally down to avoid bothering others. Otherwise, I enjoy listening to music in my cars when I'm driving alone. All of my cars have upgraded sound systems and a large sample of my music collection available (though SD cards, thumb drives, and internal audio hard drives). As at home, in the car I play the music loud. Always with windows closed, and I turn the volume down in quiet places (parking structures and lots, when stopped for a signal, etc.)

I rarely watch TV aside from sports, and for me, having it on as a background sound would be more annoying than pleasant. It's funny how people differ in their likes and dislikes.

I have all my favorite songs on iTunes, and I listen to that a lot. I don't use the TV for background news. I only watch it at night.

I have to have the TV on to go to sleep. And it seems like I have it on more during the winter months for "company" than I do in the summer. I used to listen to music all the time. I always had the radio or cd player on driving to work. I prefer to listen to a baseball game than watch it on TV. The power was knocked out by a storm one night last week. I couldn't sleep because it was too quiet.

Funnny thing, when I was teenager to twenty something I use to set my clock radio to 1 hour of music when I went to sleep. I couldn't sleep if it was too quiet. But DH changed all that, he couldn't sleep with music on. Now, after 38 years, I have to have it completely quiet before I can fall asleep.

I like quiet, too. I only have the TV on when I am watching a show. I enjoy music, but almost never turn any on in the house. I listen to music in the car or at concerts.

And no TV at dinner!

I've noticed a lot of people say they only put the TV on when they're watching a show. Since I rarely actually "watch" it even when I'm sitting in front of it and paying close attention (there is surely some sewing, or at least a puzzle, that demands my sight--I just look up now ant then to get the set of the scene), I think it's a continuum. I don't just turn on blather for the sake of noise, or at least very rarely (sometimes the hushed tones of golf or bass fishing make a pleasant susurrus to go with the loud part of the laundry, or cooking under the hood. Usually, however, if I put it on for aural wallpaper, it's on something I'm actually listening to and following. I'm not sure if that counts as "watching a show" to other people or not.

Snidely, I like music for background; when favourite song comes on, or especially a rocking one from my past, I crank up the volume. Hubby listens to music for the music, not for background. He listens to all of the instruments and follows the bass-line, drumming etc. (He plays as well).

When we watch tv, I usually organize my recipes. Unless it's a something that I really have to pay attention to (The Americans, etc) even then, I usually ask dh what's going on. :-)

I have the tv on most days. Because it tells me who is calling. I usually have it muted.

My DH knows when I'm in the mood to clean, he leaves, because I turn the oldie's channel on loud. I dust, sweep and scrub when I'm swaying to the music. He usually goes shopping or to the flea market on those days.

I often keep the radio or tv on as background noise when I'm home alone. I don't have to have something on, but I often do. Hmm, am I contradicting myself?

When I'm in the car by myself I have talk radio on. When I'm on the treadmill @ the gym I have my MP3 player on with rowdy rock music blasting while watching CNN "AND" HGTV. In the evenings we watch TV for a few hours or not.....depending on what's on and what we have going on.

I listen to music on my iPhone when I walk and to pandora at the gym when I work out. I like things loud and bouncy and often have to stop myself from singing along. Same with the car radio. At home, we seldom have the TV on, news, PBS. We canceled cable, so our baseball exposure is either at the games or listening on the radio..

My late husband needed TV background noise to fall asleep. Drove me nuts. I can't go to sleep unless it's dark, cool and quiet. Like Snidely, I cannot listen to music (always classical on NPR or CDs) while I'm doing anything else because I will automatically filter it out to pay attention what I'm doing. Absolutely cannot read while listening to music. I anticipate parts of the music I particularly like, so my attention is diverted. Always NPR on while in the car. I have tried listening to books on a long trip but my mind always wanders and I never actually hear any of it.

Only in the car...music from today's artists, and oldies, classical...but can't stand country. Quiet is also nice.....

My DH loves to have the TV going continuously. But his office is downstairs and mine is upstairs, thank goodness.

Every once in a while I play a music CD - loudly - but that's rare. When I'm at the computer, which is for hours every day, I prefer to focus on what I'm doing and reading.

I will occasionally play a CD in the car when I'm alone. But if I'm using a GPS it's too irritating to try having both on, so my CD listening is reserved for short trips when I know exactly where I'm going.

Also, I have what's called musical hallucinosis, in addition to tinnitus. There is nothing worse than hearing a song you hate - or just part of it - loop endlessly in your brain until it clicks off and another song takes its place. Yup, if I'm awake but not concentrating on something, I'm Hearing. Music. All. The. Time.

I was 56 before I read an article about it and discovered that in fact, other people did NOT always hear music that no one else could hear!

OTOH, my dreams (which are in vivid color with lots of visual detail) often have background music. It doesn't always match, but there's usually some kind of score. :)

MOOZIC!!! R&B -- OLDIES!!!!! (til noon) - then local news!!!

I like silence, or natural sounds at least. Only very rarely watch TV or listen to music, and can't sleep with that kind of noise going on. Very comfortable with thinking and living inside my own mind -- in fact, I enjoy thinking very much. Love to hear bird song and the sounds of the children in the neighborhood playing outdoors. When I do listen to music, I listen to music -- serious or other thought is impossible because the music will dominate.

I do not understand the rationale of outdoor speakers in neighborhoods. What happens when multiple neighbors with outdoor speakers decide to listen to THEIR music all at the same time? Battle of the bands, or what? How about concern for the effect on neighbors who simply want peaceful enjoyment of their own property? Can music from these outdoor speakers actually be enjoyed when played too low for the neighbors to hear? I seriously want to know.

Here, fortunately, we have a municipal code and a police department willing, as they are able (obviously not a life-or-death priority!), to mediate and deal with music played loud enough to interfere with the peace of neighbors, but I feel for those who do not.