--- title: "Peace and Quiet, Well-Earned Luxuries of Old Age | Dr. Harley Rotbart Blog" description: "When I was younger, I was okay with most loud noises, at least for short periods of time. I didn’t love or crave noise, but I accepted it for what came with it. I happily endured the roar of a packed stadium at a major sporting event –…" lang: en json-ld: | { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Peace and Quiet, Well-Earned Luxuries of Old Age", "description": "When I was younger, I was okay with most loud noises, at least for short periods of time. I didn’t love or crave noise, but I accepted it for what came with it. I happily endured the roar of a packed stadium at a major sporting event –…", "articleBody": "When I was younger, I was okay with most loud noises, at least for short periods of time. I didn’t love or crave noise, but I accepted it for what came with it. I happily endured the roar of a packed stadium at a major sporting event – and I even contributed to with my own cheers and jeers. I went to occasional concerts, even rock concerts, but tried to sit back far enough from the monster speakers to spare my ears and brain\n\nBut as I got older my ears and brain, or maybe just my patience, started changing. These days, the same decibel levels I once put up with now feel like an assault. I avoid restaurants with loud music and big crowds, I watch the big games on TV, and I can’t wait for the red light to change so the person in the car next to me with the blaring stereo will drive away.\n\nWith age, the loud feels louder, the shrill is shriller. I’m on my way to getting hearing aids, probably due in part to the noise of my youth, so someday soon I’ll have some volume control.\n\nAs an older person, peace and quiet are luxuries I’ve earned\n\nThere is, however, one exception to my noise avoidance – my grandchildren. They can laugh and squeal and even occasionally melt down and I’m okay with it. At least for short periods of time.\n\n.", "datePublished": "2025-09-30", "dateModified": "2025-09-30", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Harley Rotbart", "url": "https://harleyrotbart.com", "jobTitle": "Pediatrician, Author, Parenting Expert" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Harley Rotbart", "url": "https://harleyrotbart.com" }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://harleyrotbart.com/blog/peace-and-quiet-well-earned-luxuries-of-old-age" }, "wordCount": 235, "timeRequired": "PT1M", "articleSection": "aging" } --- [Harley Rotbart, M.D. Author • Pediatrician • Grandfather ](/) [Books](/books) [Blog](/blog)[About](/about) [Contact](/#contact) [Back to Blog](/blog)aging # Peace and Quiet, Well-Earned Luxuries of Old Age September 30, 2025 1 min read When I was younger, I was okay with most loud noises, at least for short periods of time. I didn’t love or crave noise, but I accepted it for what came with it. I happily endured the roar of a packed stadium at a major sporting event – and I even contributed to with my own cheers and jeers. I went to occasional concerts, even rock concerts, but tried to sit back far enough from the monster speakers to spare my ears and brain But as I got older my ears and brain, or maybe just my patience, started changing. These days, the same decibel levels I once put up with now feel like an assault. I avoid restaurants with loud music and big crowds, I watch the big games on TV, and I can’t wait for the red light to change so the person in the car next to me with the blaring stereo will drive away. With age, the loud feels louder, the shrill is shriller. I’m on my way to getting hearing aids, probably due in part to the noise of my youth, so someday soon I’ll have some volume control. As an older person, peace and quiet are luxuries I’ve earned There is, however, one exception to my noise avoidance – my grandchildren. They can laugh and squeal and even occasionally melt down and I’m okay with it. At least for short periods of time. . Share this post: [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fpeace-and-quiet-well-earned-luxuries-of-old-age)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fpeace-and-quiet-well-earned-luxuries-of-old-age&text=Peace%20and%20Quiet%2C%20Well-Earned%20Luxuries%20of%20Old%20Age)[](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fpeace-and-quiet-well-earned-luxuries-of-old-age&title=Peace%20and%20Quiet%2C%20Well-Earned%20Luxuries%20of%20Old%20Age) HR ### Dr. Harley Rotbart, M.D. Nationally-renowned pediatrician, parenting expert, and bestselling author helping families thrive for over 38 years. 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