Noise pollution?

Let's hear it for silence. It seems everywhere I go there's a ring or a bong or a ping going off -- the result of our electronic gadgets. The noise pollution has been getting to me so much lately that I find myself hiding in my bathroom to get away from it all. Sweet soundlessness.
Yet, I can understand why some long-distance runners don't want to give up their headphones despite orders to do so in the upcoming marathon. There's nothing like a good song to make a situation easier.