Interesting topic, Violet.
I too am sensitive to lots of noise and chaos. But...I teach middle school, and thru constant exposure to noise, I've managed to tune much of it out! I used to teach across the hall from the band room. People would come into the classroom and ask how I could stand it. Interesting, I grew not to even hear it!
My most pressing sensitivity to sound has been with sleep. I can't go to sleep with any noise. When I was in college, there was always noise in the dorm, and I developed the habit of putting a heavy pillow over my head to block out noises. When I was married, my husband snored, and I did the same thing with the pillow. I still have that pillow, and still use it as my "comfort" thingy from time to time to go to sleep, though I don't have to do it now, since I have a quiet home.
Patty