What Noise Do You Absolutely Despise? Here’s What The Southern Tier Told Us

Recently, as I was sitting in my office on the first floor of the Downtown Binghamton building where our Townsquare Media offices are located, a couple of emergency vehicles passed by on the street next to my office window.

These windows are not the best when it comes to keeping my office at a comfortable temperature, and therefore are also not good at muting outside noises. I'd be silly to think most windows would, but at least dampen some of the outside noise.

I can even hear conversations of people walking by on the sidewalk. Anyway, when the emergency vehicles drove by, their sirens were airing the usual high pitch sound. I understand that's got to happen. But for as long as I can remember, I have hated the sound of sirens, especially when they are very close to me.

Maybe it's because I remember when I was a child, spending the night at my grandparent's house sleeping in a bed that was not mine, in a room that was not mine, and in a house and town where I did not live in, made me feel a bit scared.

My grandparents lived in a small town in Western New York, and there were at least a couple of times the fire department's sirens went off in the middle of the night due to a fire. It really scared me to the point that I could not move until the siren sound ended.

So that's the one thing that drives me crazy. I asked on social media the question - "What is a noise you absolutely despise?" I received a lot of answers. Some legitimate - (Johni G. - People chewing or swallowing), some funny, some snarky, some political (Nona P. - Any politician talking), and some mean. You know, the usual thing you'd expect on social media.

There were several comments about people chewing and/or chewing with their mouths open or talking while chewing. Here's a sample of what noises our listeners absolutely despise. For more, visit our radio station's Facebook page.

• Danny G. - Barking dog
• Bill V. - Snoring
• Herbert S. - Engine knock
• Kelly N. - My alarm every morning
• Sabrina P. - nails okay. chalkboard or sanding mud on new walls
• Douglas C. -Loud mufflers
• Mark D. - People talking loudly just to be heard, and they have nothing to say
• Scott B. - Slurping one's coffee
• Roxanne D. - FaceTime with several people talking at once
• Mary M. - Sniffling
• Kris L. - Most recently I discovered basketball shoes on gym floors are on my list of no
• Stacy J. - Styrofoam. it makes my hair stand on end. gives me gross chills. it's the worst
• Matt F. - My cat licking plastic bags!
• Angie S. -  Dentist drill
• Will G. - Crinkling of an empty water bottle. Drives me nuts
• Amber R. - Any high-pitched repetitive beep
• Paula B. - The sound of ignorant extremists shouting the same phrase over and over again
• Debbie D. - Scraping dining room (wooden) chairs across the floor instead of picking up the chairs
• Linda O. - Listening to The Four Seasons and Frankie Vali....yikes!!
• Lynette B. - Gum snappers
• Norma B. - Some credit card machines have such a loud high pitched beep that it's painful.
• Sharon R - Gunfire
• Michele W. - Loud motorcycles
• JoAnne M. - That Pittsburgh Penguin horn
• Shana M. - Dogs licking. Could be licking themselves, the floor, etc. The sound infuriates me lol
• Marti K. - Drill saws and high-pitched sounds from tools.
• Carol R. -  People scuffing their feet when they "walk" instead of picking up their feet
• Douglas C. - Disco.
• Laura Di. - Phone ringing constantly and hearing the copier printing constantly
• Nancy A. - TV commercials are two or more times louder than the programs.
• Linda K. - Dripping water is a good way to torture me.
• Scott T. -  I work at a redemption center and the sound of glass hitting the glass is ear-piercing.
• Connie T. - Potato chip bags, either opening them slowly or taking one chip at a time