Which sounds/noises do you find tolerable vs. intolerable?

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I thought it would be interesting to hear what forum members would rate certain sounds they have encountered. Which do you find horrific? which are enticingly pleasant? Use the rating scale below (and if you want to, describe how/why it bothers you, it's origin? would your rating have been different in the past?)



My sounds/noises:

1/10 : The sound of dying aminatronic robots of the speaking variety. That sound they make when their speech is slowing down and becoming deeper before it stops altogether

8/10 : The sounds of number stations. It used to be 1/10 when I was younger but I have challenged this to a point where there is a kind of masochistic desire to stamp out the mind-warping effects of these uncanny sounds.

10/10 : The wavering fluttering noises often heard in tracks made by the artists Boards of Canada, and Oval (especially his track Do While). It would also be a 1/10 younger for the same reason as the above. I think it's interesting that there is a sound therapy that uses such warped electronic noises to desensitize auditory signals in those with ASDs. Maybe there is something to this then. Oh and Radio Head's track Everything In It's Right Place.

9/10 : The sound of ocean waves/brooks/other water sounds. It has always been pleasant for me.

2/10 : The sound of a power drill (esp. power-wolf brand). This was a classic hands-over-ears sound for me. When my father used this, I had to be at a geometrically opposite end of the house. Excruciating. I felt like the thing was going to explode like a bomb.

2/10 : Sirens/fire alarms/megaphones/fog horns. Not much to say about this

7/10 : Saxaphone, Oboe, Clarinet, French Horns, Piccolo. They were originally 2/10's, but my musical tastes slowly changed. I used to refuse to listen to orchestral music when these instruments were used. It was kind of limited to string ensembles, piano concertos, baroque music. Now I find them pleasant when used in songs, but would probably not listen to a solo. However piccolo is still a 2/10

5/10 : Sounds of creaking cabinets and doors. They don't bother me per se, but if I'm not the one opening them I know others are home. It's an indication that I'm going to need to change my demeanour (social anxiety).

2/10 : Loud family conversations at dinner/sounds of a large crowd. Like tiny hammers hitting my ear drums which have turned to thin tin membranes. The hammers are trilling. I start to get very dissociated and feel like an empty shell.

9/10 : Ticking grandfather clock/analog timer/stopwatch/automated mechanical things. A special interest.

10/10 : Well constructed ambient music. Artists like Stars of The Lid. Very isolating when listening with good headphones. Added plus when doing so in public places.

1/10 : The sound of fingernails scratching a ceramic magnet. The feeling of me doing this is just as bad.

10/10 Enjoyable
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjXfeFklzkQ[/youtube]


0/10 Traumatizing
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijZRCIrTgQc[/youtube]

Cool idea.
This would be a great experiment if each specific sound could be listened to by each person who would like to rate them.

I think that pitch makes a difference in many cases too, so even though the "noise" might be the same, in a different pitch it may be experienced with a different reaction.



Is there a web site for this?

You're being cheeky now.

http://www.findsounds.com/ ?

kind of cumbersome to go through. I'm trying to remember a site I saw on stumble upon that had a lot of good sound clips.

Sorry I had to post this. This is the epitome of an aversive sound and is a genuine 1/10:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McFRonD-sjg&feature=related[/youtube]

and this:

http://soundcloud.com/the-conet-project ... ain-irdial

Other numbers stations are much less creepy.

Terrifying. I would go crazy if someone locked me in a dark room with this playing. Sorry for sharing, but it's the truth.

Sounds and Noises off the top of my head:

1/10: Eating and Drinking Noises - The instantaneous and extreme annoyance I feel is enough to set my hair standing on end.

1/10: Involuntary Grunting/Yawning

2/10: Lawnmowers/Drills/Alarms/Loud Continuous Noise - It's impossible for me to ignore these noises, they make me feel like my entire body is being assaulted by their audio vibrations.

3/10: Hammering/Banging - Annoying, startles me every time there is a 'bang' sound.

4/10: Multiple People Talking at Once - Can be quite distracting since it is hard for me separate conversations from eachother and focus on just one.

5/10: High-Pitched Whine from Electrical Appliances - Not overly irritating, but can be distracting.

10/10: White Noise/Running Water/Laundry Machines/Low Continuous Noise - As the scale says, I could listen to these noises for hours and not mind. I fall asleep to the white noise of my computer fan, and in fact cannot sleep without some sort of background noise.

10/10: Ticking Clocks/Watches

Can't stand for even a minute: eating noises, fingernails on a blackboard,

Extremely problematic: almost anything when I'm trying to drop off to sleep, neighbours TV/radio longer than about half an hour

Dislike: too many aeroplanes (could not live on a flightpath), motorways, machines, when I can hear peoples' music through their headphones or direct from their music player when I'm on public transport, drunk people.

0/10- The sound of people cracking their fingers, terrible singing, metal objects scraping against eachother, & nails on a chalkboard

......everything else is fine to me.

I agree, Briana.

Nasally voices drive me up the wall. Sudden noises are no fun either and put me on edge.

Love well constructed, songs with plenty of layers of complimentary sounds.

Bison

1/10: Eating noises, bad music (that Persephone video is pure Hellish), babies and toddlers screaming.

1/5: More than one person talking at the same time, loud motorcycles.

10/10 A cat purring, birds singing, crickets chirping, rain, wind, thunder...all "natural" (non-human) sounds, I guess.