Sound? or Silence?
 

Allright ...

Background info - this was a conflict-of-living-style between me and my soon-to-be ex .. that's what inspired the curiousity

In your living environs, what do you prefer?

Do you need sound ... tv, music, human convo, or any other auditory stimulations?
What, when, why?

or ....

Do you appreciate the sound of silence? Still, peaceful, tranquil. ...

Me?

I'm totally a sound person.
Mostly music, or carefully selected stuff eminating from a television (and no commercials or i'm blowing it up).
I like the music to be relatively hm, loud enough. unless i'm sleeping, in which case it needs to be relatively quiet or i fear i won't hear my alarm (because of noise causing me to be 'immune' to the alarm).
So yeah, 24/7, ideally.

Why?
Quite simple.
1. I'm big on 'atmosphere'. Music enhances my aesthetic experience.
2. I've got a Chatter-Brain. If I don't have the sound to balance it out, I have been known to consider doing anything to make_it_stop.
But, since it's going to chatter, I've accepted that ... sound is my way of coping.

Anyways ... come on, tell me how you are :)

I didn't vote, because I am not really sure which one would suit me best. During the day, when the kids are home, I either have the tv or the radio on. Once the day is over, I like it to be quiet, I enjoy the peace after they are both in bed. I guess you could say I like both. I wouldn't say I could care less, because I do like to have the noise during the day, just not at night.

d'oh!

So i edited the poll options, and added some sort of 'both'. :)

I give it an Eh.

I feel that in order for the enviroment to be true the song and silence will come naturally.
I do not need to enforce any restriction on it. It will happene when it happens.

I am deaf when I take out my hearing aid, and I like it to be quiet when I do so - so most evenings are much quieter for me... During the day, I almost always have some music going, or I start talking to myself sometimes.

I'm more of a white noise type.

Music is fine but if you don't like the style of music, it sucks bad enough to end a relationship :P

Love peace and quiet, maybe that's why I enjoy winter hiking so much.

When I am painting or drawing I will listen to music sometimes, it helps set a mood for what I'm working on. I will usually spend about ten to twenty minutes just getting the right music on. When there is music going I like to hear it, all the subtle tones, but I don't crank it up, just loud enough to enjoy.

I'm mixed on this.

If the TV is on, it is being watched. If it is not being watched, it goes off. I HATE having the TV on as background noise.

I like to have music on at home, generally classical or old jazz (big band).

When I'm driving, mostly loud or agressive music.

When I'm working, generally silence, or instrumental music that I'm not familiar with; otherwise, I'm listening, not working.

Bedtime, quiet.

more sound than silence here. I love music and need it constantly, however** I do enjoy the sound of nothing. Sometimes the nothing just describes how I feel. If it's raining really hard I listen to it or if it's just light rain I walk in it with the MD goin full blast ;)

Both. When I am home alone (usually after my son has gone to bed) I tend to turn everything off, because I'm surrounded by sound all day. However, I need "white noise" to sleep and drown out the sounds of the city...the barking dogs, cars going by, etc.

I'm in the same boat.

If I'm reading something, I have to have it pretty quiet. Television and music just distract me from what it is I'm reading.

Usually silence is golden, but to sleep I absolutely have to have a fan going.

I crave silence, particularly when I sleep. I'm fine with watching TV or listening to music, but I really don't need any backround noise to my life.

There has to be sound for me to be comfortable. When there's silence, I have trouble concentrating and sleeping. I'll put a fan on in my room at night, even if it's cold because I can't sleep in absolute silence.

Depends. Most of the time, I want some music playing when i'm in the house. But once in a while I just want everyone around me to just be quiet. Actually, that usually just happens when I am in a public area

More silence than sound for me. I work in a noisy place with lots of sounds that I need to pay attention to, so at home I prefer to keep the noise down. The TV should not be on if nobody is watching it! If I'm ill noise actually makes me nauseous.
On the other hand, I'm easily moved by a beauiful piece of music or a smooth voice.

Equal balance. Sometimes I like it completely quiet to help me think and relax.

Other times, I have to have the tv or music going on, otherwise, I freak out a bit. :D

I love sound... I always have to have music or the telly as some sort of background noise.. (I think it drowns out the voices in my head... ) but the condition to that is it has to be MY sound... It drives me bonkers to hear other people's noise (and it's noise a t that point, not sound) thru the walls or the floor...

I have to have some kind of backround noise so that my brain can stay occupied with that instead of having to think.
I do all my writing to heavy metal, alot of my workouts to dance and soul, and usually go to sleep listening to the birdies outside.
I love dead silence when i'm outdoors. I remember being in finland watching the aurora and there was NO sound, not even a slightest hint of wind. I was completly taken back by the lights in the sky, and all my senses could focus on it. A magical moment if ever there was one.
Odd sounds make me angry, i can sleep to the sound of my fish tank going, or the fan by my bed, but banging, clanking, even the birds at times make me very aggitated.

It depends what I am doing. If I am just at home chilling out, I for sure prefer music. Sometimes when I am stressed or upset, I prefer to sit in silence and really think about what needs to be done.
At night- I need pure silence. Constant sounds like snoring, taps dripping, ect.... make me go insane when I am trying to sleep.

If I'm studying, I detest background noise. It distracts me. I also can't listen to certain music when I read--if it's too new to me and unfamiliar, I focus more on the music than my reading and lose my train of thought.

However, I love music and listen to it frequently, sometimes when studying, mostly to drown out other noise. Little noises, conversation, etc. prove too distracting to me when attempting to focus on a task. I prefer quiet, and if quiet cannot be had, music.

There are all kinds of exceptions to my preferences and situations where I don't want music and just want to listen to random sounds (for instance, laying out in the park, I love to listen to the sounds of town) but that is rare.

Sound, sound, sound, sound...I'm silenceophobic. It HURTS to have quiet - there needs to be something in the background. Music is preferred, but TV doesn't hurt. In fact, I need music or other noise in order to go to sleep. More than that, if it gets too quiet during the evening, then I'll wake up. Silence is too painful for me.

I love the silence. I find if there's music on or whatever i'll "listen" to it. When there is complete silence, my imagination gets goin and I start thinking.

It's nice to have sound on when driving, or studying, because it distracts my brain just enough to concentrate on the more important task.

When I'm too wired, I find that sound helps me focus through distraction. On the other hand, when I'm calm and reflective, I prefer silence to keep it that way.

It's a little of both. I've had the winamp off the last few hours, though it's usually play some classic rock. My roomy likes to leave the tv on. It's off when I'm home first, and on if he's home first.Without reruns of 24, there's no reason to watch tv. But I am downloading the first season.

Whenever I have a headache (which is often), I like it to be pretty quiet. However, I like having the tele on when I'm cooking, or some music on when I'm just fiddling on the computer.

When I"m reading a book, studying, or writing, I need it either silent, or need non-intrusive music, such as the slower, more contemplative Hayden. When reading comics, it depends upon how text heavy they are. Alan Moore demands the same quiet attention as an all text book, while something like Spider-Man can usually be done with music or the tv playing, which is to say, I can tolerate the noise, but would prefer it very quiet.

Music of any kind will keep me awake, as will the tv. However I do need some white noise, in my case a fan, to drown out environmental sounds.

When surfing the net or posting and reading here, I'll have the local no-dj's rock station playing in the background or a tv show on in a window.

More simply: When reading, quiet; when not, sound, in bed, white noise, but no music or tv.

You need both :)

you would die without sounds. it's way too mundane

and you would die with too much sound. the noise gives you a headache when you're trying to sleep or concentrate

I voted more silence than sound. Living in the most crowded state in the country, in a small house with 3 others, silence is a treat. As I sit here, there are only two sounds-my nails on the keyboard and the neighbor behind me scraping off roof shingles. Occasionally, a car or truck will break the silence and that grates on my nerves.
Even in my car, I have driven up to 5 hours straight in total silence-heaven.

All sound all the time. Sleep with the tv on and don't leave home without my iPod. I have been this way for so long that concentrating in quiet is near impossible.

One of my recent discoveries is that when I sleep with Telemundo on, I dream in Spanish. I even seem to think that I understand it in the dream, which is not the case at all. A very "trippy" experience if you're feeling a bit International some eveing!

silence. i can go through a hwole day in the office without a whisper of radio or talking to a soul. while i make dinner, its a bit of jazz or something soothing. not too loud but to too low

..........

When I'm trying to sleep I need dead silence, black darkness and cold. Any sound at all and I can't reach dreamland. As for ambient sound during waking hours, I don't listen to music often unless I'm in a real Pink Floyd mood so mostly the sound would be from the television to which I have a firm addiction. So I dunno, sound for the sake of sound I can do without but I do like my time listening to and/or watching television or talk radio. I don't think its so much the sound but being engaged in the stories.

I tend more towards preferring silence, although I do like to listen to music. It really depends on what I'm doing.

I can't handle too much talking or distraction aroung me when I'm working, since my job requires mental concentration. Same with studying, when I was in school I didn't listen to too much music when I was trying to write a paper or absorb a lot of information. However, music has been a huge plus when doing a physical or monotonous job like many I've had in the past.

I can't stand having a tv going if I'm not watching it. If I'm not actively watching it, I turn it off. Nothing bugs me more than going over to someone's house and they have the tv just going - I feel like just marching over and killing it. I think having a tv going in the background also takes away from the quality of interaction because it tends to pull people's attention away, so one minute you're having a conversation and the next minute you or your companion are staring blankly at something on the tv they probably wouldn't be watching if they had thought about it. Anyhow I don't have a tv in my house.

If I'm trying to sleep, I can't have music or tv sounds because it distracts me and keeps me awake - my ears are constantly going, "Wait, what's that? What are they saying?" If I'm trying to nap in the afternoon or something, I don't mind some ambient noise like lawnmowers in the background or birds chirping. The only music I can fall asleep to is Mozart's Requiem, because I used to play it to mask the sounds of my neighbors when I worked nights and was trying to sleep during the day. Unfortunately this means I can no longer listen to it when I want to stay awake, because I'll start nodding off. :p

I'm agreeing with Pip on this one! Most of the time I would rather sit in my yard (weather permitting) and listen to the birds than having tv or radio going. After an especially busy day at work or school I would much rather come home to quiet (my S/O is just the opposite which creates some challenges sometimes!)

sound - when I'm awake, there is almost always a radio/cd/tv on...

I enjoy having music on, or the T.V. in the backgound.

however, i also enjoy silence, i like a balance. Luckily, my husband is the same way, so we've had no issues meshing over our sound vs. silence.

interesting topic.

Sweetpea

More silence than anything, but I do love some good background music.

To me, silence is the most fragile aspect of privacy.
One person can rob a whole neighborhood of its tranquility.

For this reason, I say silence - it is easy to add sound to silence, but impossible to do the opposite.

Of course, if you're talking about a perfect world, where everyone respects each other, and the only sounds I hear are those I create, then my vote would be a non-commited "silence more than sound."

I live way out in the country. We sleep in absolute silence and darkness. When I get up, I hear the songs of birds or nothing at all. We never have the TV on unless we are watching something.

I travel to big cities (mainly NY and Toronto) probably 10 or less days a year. In NYC in particular I have this sense of never being able to calm down, of my heart pounding all the time. I think that's related to the never ending noise. Interesting how you city folk thrive on some sort of constant auditory stimulation!

Sound..Always have music playing.

I only like silence when i'm sleeping. I like sound (Music) Noise drives me nuts, Like roommates screaming because there favourite music video came on...Yippeeeee.