Reading your and others comment I wonder what sort of refrigerators and freezers you have. Mine are about 10 years old now, Bosch, full height and whatever the best energy class was available at the time.

I'm very sound sensitive but rarely do I hear any noise from them unless I recently opened them for an extended period. Do we just have quieter appliances in Scandinavia than the rest of the world or something?

My refrigerator is a Whirlpool purchased new in 1995 at Best Buy.

It is the exact model pictured: https://bids.fowlerauction.com/auctions/38959/lot/5830641-wh...

It works perfectly (except for the hum which has been there unchanged on and off as the compressor cycles for 31 years). I'm kind of used to it by now....

For lulz I checked and you can buy working models of this fridge at estate sales for $50-$110: the one pictured sold at a 2024 estate sale auction in Alabama/Tennessee/Georgia for $110.