I'm a bit in the middle on this.

I do wake to news radio, turn it on when I enter the house & have something on pretty much constantly. I listen to the radio or a tape when alone in the car. Tapes to sing with are a great way to stay awake. I can't handle television because I can't let it be background, it demands my attention even when I don't want to give it.

I do turn the music off when I have company unless there is something specific I want them to listen to. I turn the radio off in the car when we're talking. On long trips the conversation can run out so I'll put something on then.

I think it is in large part a difference in ages, but the age break is somewhere around 45-50, maybe even a little older. Children of the 50's & 60's grew up with both television the transistor radios & just small radios that could be listened to in privacy that completely changed the home sound scene.

I think when you grow up with the sound of radio, recordings, or TV, constantly around you, you can treat it as background & feel uncomfortable if it's not there. If you grew up before that time, you are used to giving it fuller attention & therefore find it more disruptive if you're not interested. This is especially marked in studying situations where one needs the sound to concentrate & one needs the quiet.

I also don't find all sounds equal. I'd make a distinction between naturally occurring & manufactured sounds. Yes, we do tend to fill up the silence, but filling it with conversation or music making seem a better way of filling it. I also think it's a good thing to turn off the personal music device & listen to nature is also, but maybe that's just my age :-)