How Germany's love of silence led to the first earplug

Noise like living next to an airport, a train track or a loud street can make people sick, no matter if they are German or of some other nationality. There is scientific evidence for that, which is why there is a need for regulations and people can complain if there are violations. Maybe this is something typical German, the idea the things have to be done the right way.

We have five senses, all of which are important, which is why in my opinion, architecture shouldn't be only about the "seeing" aspect. Sound architecture is a good thing, but I never thought of it as something typical German before.

In Germany there is the opinion that if you are speaking the truth, there is no need to shout. That might be also a reason why our politicians are quieter. Being loud is often seen as a sign of passion, but not a sign of reason. Well, our political debates also become quite loud and I could only wish they were all about reasoning.

"Kids' playgrounds across Germany are notable for the lack of noisy children as parents and teachers fear neighbours' reprisals."

In my experience that's usually because many children prefer staying at home and play video games and/or because of the poor state of many playgrounds. Playgrounds are one of the few places where children can play as much as they want (in theory), but parents might fear their neighbour's reprisals if children play loudly outside of playgrounds. But all that might depend on the neighbourhood. Also, some playgrounds have certain "opening hours."

As a final remark, I don't think that today's Germany is the worldwide benchmark for quietness. I know somebody who was in Japan recently and nobody talked inside the train there (at least on the way to work), while it is quite common to talk in a train in Germany (if you get really loud, you will earn a lot of looks though). But Germany is changing and becoming more colored and multinational and sometimes also a little bit more noisy and that's not necessarily always a bad thing.

I've tried Ohropax ear plugs, the wax, foam, and silicone variety and didn't like them very much. So I did a little research on the Internet and bought Laser Lite earplugs. They are very comfortable and dampen sound _much_ better than Ohropax products.

The germans love for silence can be evidenced in the reviews for earplugs/protectors:

http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B004RANCEA/

Well i dunno, all my worst flatmates ever have either been british or german. and they both were sooo terribly noisy and invasive. French people really do like and respect silence.