But we hear noise, even if we do not notice it. We get used to it by becoming somewhat oblivious to its presence. As a result, silence now seems abnormal. Remove the envelope of noise and we become anxious and nervous. Just as a long-term prisoner, released from jail, finds freedom confining and longs for the regularity and predictability of life on the cell block, we long for what we know: noise. Our noisy world acts as a kind of insulation, a distraction from the serious concerns that silence often invites.
— C. W. McPherson, Keeping Silence