Ed, I'm not sure that hating silence is a guy-thing or a 21st-century technological age thing. There's so little silence that when it occurs it can be disturbing!
It has taken me years to learn to love silence. There are so many different kinds of silence; that quiet, just-before-sleep-silence with nothing but far-away cars and nearby crickets; the companionable silence between two close friends or loved ones on a walk, the relaxing silence after a busy day or hour when you just need to sit and breathe.
I'm now trying to learn to listen to the silence-beyond-the-music, both the music you play and the music of nature. I guess it's the same as the silence-between-the-notes you mentioned, dw.
Peace, Allison

PS, I wrote this up before the last 5 posts and then got disconnected. Most of you said what I wanted to say and you said it much better!