But it doesn't make that much difference when you're playing if there's a bit of noise in the background - I mean it doesn't normally put you off or spoil the enjoyment (unless there are chairs flying through the air), so long as you can huddle closer to the others playing and hear them. The listeners lose out, rather than the players. I've heard superb ensemble playing in situations where you can't hear yourself speak and have to order drinks by sign language.

But with singing it's different, if you're singing against a racket, you can't hear yourself (though that's where the oft-derided finger behind the ear comes into its own)- or it turns into a shouting competition, and that can wreck your voice.