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I have worked on trading floor most of my corporate life so far. I am so used to loud noise, paper planes, ball throwing, swearing etc. that I forget sometimes that loud noise is actually a hinderance at work. People like us consider it a part of work culture even though we may not like it. My advice: Use headphones. Talk to your manager again about moving. If you do not sit with other team members, may be you can get moved if you continue trying.

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The trading floor description strikes me as what I think of as the "cafe experience". In a busy cafe (e.g. the one next to the university, a few towns over), all the conversations can "blend" into a wall of sound that lacks much in the way of consistently distinguishable components. As a result, my brain stops trying to pick out the pieces, and my concentration actually rises.

It's still exhausting, though, over the long term. 2 - 3 hours, typically, and I am somewhat fried. But it's at a subconscious level, rather than e.g. the frustration of the cubemate who insists on making speakerphone phone calls, or the one who's personal volume is always set to "11".

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