Silence all the way!
I have a real issue with noise, chatter, anything like that. I especially can't handle competing noises, like if the TV is on and then someone asks me a question. People think I'm just being a jerk, but when there are competing noises, what enters my brain is just a mish-mash of sounds, nothing distinguishable, and it's very frustrating.
MrsT and I are at odds about it all the time, because she's a talker. She talks from the minute she wakes up until she goes to bed, and there are a lot of times where I have to get up and leave the room, because it's like it's impossible for her to be silent for more than a few minutes. Thought forms in her head, and it's out of her mouth before it's even finished being a thought.
Last night, for example, we were watching a movie, and it was like this after the opening credits:
"Oh! I didn't know he was in this! Cool!"
<20 seconds later>
"I wonder where they filmed this?"
<10 seconds later>
"He looks so young in this!"
<20 seconds later>
"I probably shouldn't be having popcorn."
<15 seconds later>
"Remind me to call the dentist on Monday."
And on and on and on. No amount of complaining, cajoling, or demanding has slowed it down for the last 30 years.
Silence is why I like being by myself so much. The last wedding reception we attended, I had to get up and leave because all the screaming and whooping and hollering, mixed in with the music, was actually causing a sensation like motion sickness - disorienting and nauseating.
I also startle very easily at loud, unexpected noises (which is why my gun-happy neighbors drive me crazy). I bit my tongue (literally) this morning while eating because the dog barked for no reason.