Sounds of silence - listen up...down and all around!

Having never been a TV watcher, and not really a music listener, I have spent time sitting listening...to what? To my thoughts, to sounds of the neighbourhood, to 'white noise'. straining my ears to hear. Sometimes in the middle of the night in bed my listening has been driven by paranoia, when there was noone else in the house. But it is fun to 'listen out' - up, down and all around, as far as the ear can hear, to see if you increase the aptitude of your ears to pick up sounds further and further away. Like that, I have heard dogs talking to each other, probably suburbs away, birds singing at odd times like between 10pm and midnight, when you would think they would be asleep. I don't think I have 20/20 hearing as the sounds of young people talking are often a mumble to me. But I am sure the ear can be trained to hear better, just as the eyes can become accustomed to walking at night. So far I have only really mastered this one by negotiating the hallway without hurting myself, but out in the bush it is a whole different experience.
When meditating this means I can hear my heart beating, or sometimes something more (atoms bouncing around?). At any rate, I like it. Now that I have got hold of a deep ecology book, Bill Devall's Simple in means, rich in ends: practicing deep ecology (the practicing bit drew me to it), I am delighted to see a section on 'Silence' which states 'Silence is intuitively valued. Well-being of humans and other animals is partly determined by quiet.' And of course, 'quieting our chattering minds' (something I attempt to do often).
It is ironic that Rachel Carson's book is called Silent Spring. When I walk on the beach or in a park and see people with headsets on, I often think her prediction has already arrived in another form. (But would like to add that music can be a wonderful thing.)