After age 15 when Carrington started to lose his hearing, he would become startled at sudden, high-pitched noises. These seemed to be the only sounds he was able to hear and I'm guessing that in his acclimation to his increasingly silent world, these sounds were a strange intrusion. Even the clicking of a kitchen cabinet door-latch would cause a reaction. I soon learned to close each door quietly, and in the street, I would avoid walking him by loud garbage trucks, etc. as best I could.