I've always been fascinated by sound in general- I was classically trained for 10 years in piano, starting at the age of 6. During these musically developmental years, I would always try to pull weird shit with my piano instructors.. "You're making noise, not music!". Out in public, I would always be drawn to sounds that involved the clanking of heavy machinery, distorted buzzing, whirring/droning, etc. Any strange sound I could get out of an object, was a simple pleasure.
In high school, when an ex-gf bought me a MIDI controller, after I expressed interest in making electronic music, I started messing with noise via soft synths. I would never listen to noise, only make it. The closest thing might have been the IDM I was listening to. At the time, I knew there was a noise scene out there and I was familiar by name with some bands, but I never really bothered to explore that until a few years ago.
My relationship to noise had been entirely personal up until I decided to started to attentively listen to classic acts, which was spurred by being traded a tape that I had no idea would be Power Electronics until I received it. And now I keep up with some of the newer stuff. Sometimes I feel embarrassed that I was late in the game for listening, but better late than never!