You know, it's funny you mention that silence letting you focus on sound, like @tyler_baker said. For me, turning everything off changed how I feel the work in my hands, not just hear it. Without any noise, I started noticing the tiny vibrations coming up the hammer handle when the steel's at the perfect heat, or the different feel through the rasp when the hoof wall is just right. That quiet makes my hands smarter, I guess. It's like the whole shop talks through the tools instead of my ears.