15 Everyday Sounds That Instantly Annoy Vermonters

“Being in public” has turned into a sensory experiment nobody signed up for.

You go out for coffee, and someone’s on a speaker call. You sit down at a café, and someone starts typing like they’re trying to win a speed competition. Even the self-checkout machine wants to scold you.

We’ve adapted, sure. But at what cost?

These sounds follow Vermonters and Americans across the country everywhere, from the grocery aisle to the airport terminal, making us long for the peaceful hum of silence we didn’t know we missed.

The Infinite Notification Pings

There’s something uniquely grating about a stranger’s phone in public that won’t stop dinging.

Whether it’s group texts, Slack messages, or a flood of app alerts, that repetitive ping has the power to drive anyone to the brink.

It’s even worse when the offender doesn’t react. The phone buzzes and beeps every five seconds while its owner scrolls calmly, seemingly immune to the chaos.

Everyone around them, meanwhile, is one sound away from launching it into the nearest street.

If you’re one of the rare souls who keeps their phone on silent, you deserve a medal for your public service.

The Grocery Cart Wheels That Squeal

You walk into a store, grab a cart, and within five seconds, realize you’ve chosen the cursed one.

It screeches, wobbles, and announces your every move to all the strangers around you like a kid on a sugar rush.

There’s no subtle escape, either. Everyone hears it.

The sound echoes down the aisles as you push through, trying to act casual while pretending it’s not yours. Somewhere in the distance, a calm, silent cart rolls by like a taunt.

The worst part is you consider abandoning your groceries entirely just to end the noise.

The Loud Cellphone Talker

Few modern villains are as universally despised as the loud phone talker. You can hear them three tables away at Starbucks, narrating their entire conversation about Karen from accounting.

They’re not shy, they’re not subtle, and they seem convinced everyone is dying to hear about their dog’s new medication.

It’s never a toned-down chat either. It’s always full-volume, complete with exaggerated laughter that echoes off every wall.

The rest of the café collectively holds its breath, pretending not to eavesdrop while silently wishing for the invention of a “mute” button for humans.

If you’ve ever caught yourself involuntarily glaring at someone doing this, congratulations. You’re officially part of society.

The Person Watching Videos on Speaker

Nothing says “main character energy” like someone blasting TikToks in a waiting room.

Whether it’s a teenager at the dentist or a grown adult in an airport terminal, they act as though their personal entertainment belongs to a bunch of strangers.

The volume is always way too high, and it’s rarely something peaceful.

It’s usually a mix of jump cuts, laughter, and sound effects that could raise the dead.

You want to say something, but how do you politely tell someone their YouTube Shorts are ruining everyone’s sanity?

The Slurping and Chewing in Surround Sound

Every public eater believes they’re quiet. They’re usually not.

The slurps, crunches, and mouth pops of a neighbor’s lunch can send even the most patient soul into a spiral.

It’s especially bad on planes, where there’s no escape while someone’s unwrapping chips like it’s a live performance.

Scientists have a word for it: misophonia. The rest of us just call it “that sound that makes me want to teleport.”

It’s not that chewing is offensive. It’s that once you notice it, it’s all you can hear.

The Sneezes That Echo Across the Room

There are quiet sneezes, and then there are the sonic booms that make an entire café flinch.

You know the type—the kind that feels like a weather event. Everyone turns their head, startled, then immediately pretends to go back to their laptops while silently praying there’s not a second round.

It’s not that people mind sneezing. It’s that public sneezes come with germs.

In a post-2020 world especially, it tends to come with a collective side-eye and people subtly reaching for hand sanitizer.

The polite “Bless you” tradition is hanging on by a thread. Mostly, people just freeze and hope it’s over.

The Self-Checkout That Won’t Stop Talking

There’s something oddly menacing about the voice at self-checkout. “Please place your item in the bagging area. Please remove the item. Please place it back.”

It’s the same robotic tone every time, like a passive-aggressive teacher trapped in your grocery store.

No matter what you do, it scolds you. You could be scanning one item perfectly, and it still insists there’s an “unexpected item.”

You apologize to the machine as if it has feelings, then wave over an employee to fix it while the line behind you grows restless.

If modern life has a soundtrack, it’s that relentless robotic voice, followed by the sigh of a tired cashier.

The High-Pitched Train Brakes

If you’ve ever stood near a city intersection when a subway train screeches to a stop, you know what true discomfort feels like.

That metallic squeal hits a frequency that bypasses your ears and goes straight to your soul.

It’s not even a short sound; it lingers, echoing through the air.

Everyone freezes for a second, flinching in unison, before pretending to go about their day like nothing happened.

There’s no escape except putting in earbuds and keeping your distance from the tracks.

The Person Snapping Gum

There’s chewing gum, and then there’s weaponized gum.

You know the type: the loud snap every few seconds, the rhythmic popping that becomes impossible to ignore once you notice it.

In classrooms, it’s a slow form of psychological warfare. In offices, it’s an HR-level distraction. And in public transport?

It’s a one-way ticket to madness.

Nobody knows how gum snappers maintain that stamina, but one thing’s certain: they’ll keep popping until someone politely loses their mind and speaks up.

The Car Alarm That Won’t Quit

Car alarms were invented for safety, not symphonies. Yet half the time they’re triggered by nothing more than an overly confident pigeon.

They blare for what feels like eternity while everyone nearby silently prays for silence.

The owner never appears. The sound echoes through parking lots, apartment complexes, and downtown streets as time itself seems to slow down.

Eventually, the alarm stops on its own.

It’s the 2020s. Surely someone can invent an alarm that texts the owner instead of traumatizing the entire block.

The Keyboard Clacker in a Quiet Café

There’s always one. The person who types with the confidence of a courtroom stenographer, pounding each key like they’re auditioning for a percussion section.

Cafés are supposed to be peaceful, but the rhythmic clack-clack-clack of mechanical keys can turn them into makeshift offices.

Add the occasional frustrated sigh and coffee slurp, and you’ve got a soundtrack no one asked for.

It’s not that people mind productivity. They just mind feeling like they’re sitting inside a typewriter.

The Turn-Signal That Won’t Turn Off

You’ve seen it… or rather, heard it when you’re in someone’s vehicle. That steady tick-tick-tick of a forgotten turn signal that goes on for miles.

It’s the automotive version of background noise you can’t unhear.

The driver’s blissfully unaware, cruising along while everyone else silently loses patience behind them.

It’s such a small sound, yet it has power. That rhythmic clicking can turn a calm drive into an existential crisis faster than rush-hour traffic ever could.

The Bathroom Hand Dryer Jet Engine

Public restrooms are supposed to offer relief, not acoustic trauma. Yet hand dryers sound like jet engines testing for takeoff.

You press the button and instantly lose all sense of peace as the noise drowns out thought itself.

They’re efficient, sure, but also the reason people exit bathrooms with their hands half-wet and their hearing slightly worse.

Parents cover their kids’ ears; introverts just power through.

No one knows why dryers need to be that loud. We just accept it as part of modern life.

The Elevator Music That Refuses to Retire

Somehow, every elevator, phone hold line, and dentist office playlist got stuck in 1992.

Those same instrumental versions of pop hits play on loop, soothing no one and annoying everyone.

It’s not just the melody. It’s the endlessness.

You’ll be humming it three hours later. If elevator music were human, it would be the person who says “no worries” after you’ve already started worrying.

The Constant Clicking of Pens

Click. Click. Click. You know exactly who it is, and they don’t even realize they’re doing it.

The pen clicker lives among us, providing a constant percussion line to every waiting room and classroom.

It’s not malicious. It’s subconscious for them. But it can test even the calmest temperament.