> experiencing "silence" makes a lot of people uneasy

I remember riding a motorcycle with earplugs. (Uncertain if it is legal)

they were the 3m 33 db ones, and were the exact opposite of uneasy. Although I could hear things around me, the muting made the world quietly slide by, and I felt like I was in the center of an island of calm. It was very peaceful.

I suspect this is akin to driving a high-end car with NVH dialed into "ultra luxury silence", or sitting in the good seats of a jet where the sounds of the engines are far behind you and can't quite catch up.

In this ever more hectic world, I think silence (and freedom from other distractions) will be more and more a luxury.