For many nervous passengers it isn't turbulence at all. It's the noises. The thump. The whirr. The clunk. Every one of them has a name, and none of them is a surprise to us.
The sound of success, not failure
The thump shortly after takeoff is the landing gear retracting and locking away. The whine before it is the hydraulics doing the lifting.
The reduction in engine noise a few minutes into the climb is us setting climb power. Full takeoff thrust is only needed briefly, and reducing it saves the engines and the neighbourhood below.
Whirring and buzzing are hydraulic pumps, electrical motors and air conditioning packs. They run constantly. You only notice them when you're listening for trouble.
Bings and bongs
Almost every chime you hear is a communication tool. Cabin crew calling each other. A passenger pressing the call button. A signal that we've passed ten thousand feet.
Nothing more dramatic than that. If something genuinely abnormal happens, you don't hear it first — we see it instantly on the flight deck.
If it's a noise you can hear, we already knew it was coming.