It's nice to hear that other people find ordinary noises too loud. I've often been seriously bothered by restaurant people clattering dishes. It can be like a blow inside my head.

Recently I read a book about a family with an autistic daughter. Autistic people often have very sensitive hearing. One day the father upset her greatly by rumpling up a grocery bag to start a fire in the fireplace. In fact, he felt bad all the time because his daughter kept aloof from him.

I wanted to tell him, "You hurt her with that noise. She thinks you know how much it hurts, and she thinks you did it on purpose. She's six. You're an adult, and she thinks you understand everything."

"Tell her you're sorry, tell her you love her, and for heaven's sake stop being so noisy."

It sure doesn't help that so many people are deafening themselves with loud music on earphones. They don't hear the loudness their children hear.