Just for the next five minutes, turn off the music, switch off the TV or unplug the headphones. Stop all extraneous noise around you and listen. What do you hear?
I hear birds singing in the garden and the nearby trees, the soft hum of traffic out on the main road, the wail of a siren as an ambulance makes it way to or from Beaumont Hospital. I hear a motorbike, clearly ridden by someone who has no truck with silencers or mufflers, growl and fart its way up the main road, screaming into the distance. I hear the sussurant thrum of my washing machine before it leaps into its spin cycle, which will be loud and violent enough that sometimes I think the damn thing is going to take off and hammer through my walls. I catch the distant sounds of children playing: laughter, screams, howls, voices raised in indignation ("That's not how you play!") and the stentorian bark of a local dog in someone's back garden announcing its plight to all and sundry, answered by a few others in the neighbourhood as they sympathise, or report their position to be similar.
I hear a clock on my desk quietly but determinedly ticking off the seconds, minutes and hours of another day, its indefatigable march forward a reminder to me of my own mortality, that, like sand in an hourglass, my life is slowly slipping away. The sharp BEEP BEEP of a truck backing up, a male voice raised in raucous laughter, someone ringing at a doorbell a few doors away. The sharp cry of a flock of seagulls; someone has obvously put out some food and they're descending now like a white cloud of sharp beaks and razor talons, inviting their comrades to the feast. Somewhere not too far away a baby cries, there's the tinny, muted sound of a radio broadcasting the news, and someone has a bad, possibly smoker's cough. Footsteps running, a woman's high heels on the tarmac, a sudden sharp gust of wind that rattles the window panes and the low drone of an aircraft heading from Dublin Airport to parts unknown.
How about you? What do you hear if you shut out all the noise for a moment?
First I hear the filter from the aquarium sucking. Then I hear my tinnitus. Then I hear the hum of the computer. The sound of the keys as I'm typing this. And that's pretty much it.
It's night time. I should go to bed.
First and foremost, I hear the ringing in my ears that never really goes away but is especially noticeable when it's in a quiet environment. Next, I hear the rattling and rush of air from my heating vents because it's surprisingly cool out for May.
6:15am... I hear a bird chirping, a jet plane flying somewhere far off in the background, raindrops hitting my roof and gutters, and that's all I can hear at this moment.
ac and air filter running
ringing in my ears
stomach growling (maybe digestive juices decided what to do with the grapes i just ate)
a lot of little farts
cars driving by
(there's usually a nice collection of birds singing in the backyard but i just came in after eating my grapes outside)
i'm about to hear a nice plop in the toilet
ps the air filter really works if you're wondering
we change the filter and it'll be black and we don't even smoke
7:15am... A bird chirping, someone riding a motorcycle on the main road a mile away, a crow squawking briefly.
I love the topic!
I'm extremely thankful to have a home in a quiet village - that was a significant contributor to my decision to purchase it, as I am incredibly sensitive to noise. It's mostly a retirement community so I rarely see or hear my neighbors.
Presently from the bedroom I hear birds outside, comically including a blue Jay who has learned to mimic a neighbor's low battery notification in their smoke alarm. I replaced my own alarm's battery thinking that was what I was hearing before spotting the jay. (That drove me batty for days!)
The only other sound is a nuisance high-frequency rapidly oscillating tone emitting from an inexpensive USB charger brick. That's a common issue with lower-priced models and is not dangerous, just annoying.
I have a hi-fi in my bedroom where I queue 10-12 hours of ambient drones every night before bed to mask external noise and to help lull me to sleep. I tried sleep headphones but prefer the ambience of the sound coming from the floor speakers for better results.
It was interesting to turn that off for a few to consciously focus on the sounds around me. Thanks!
6pm fish and chip time
- the very faint sound of the motorway buzzing in the background
- birds tweeting
- children's voices playing in the back garden a few doors away
- fan fanning
- myself breathing
Its a warm but pleasant late spring evening in our glorious Kingdom. There is a slight breeze and it is sunny.