I don't hear much once I'm in bed. That's intentional as I happen to live in a loud neighborhood. I always pop in my earplugs in switch on the air conditioner in the window right next to my bed. That drowns out about 90% of the noise. The remaining 10% can still be significant, though. Loud enough noises can make it through.
Last night there were at least two huge thuds. I actually felt them much more than I heard them. Whenever something like that happens, I grab the X10 remote control next to my bed which I use to control the lights. Just in case there is a prowler, I like to let them know I'm on to them. Since both the front and back lights are always on after dark, I first hit the "Lights Off" button to switch them off, and then I hit the "All Lights on" button to turn all the controlled lights in and outside my house on. That's what I did last night. Then, when I heard no more sounds, I concluded that someone must have set some firecrackers off in the street below and went back to sleep.
This afternoon as I went out the front door to get the mail, I saw that someone had actually broken a pane of glass in the door right next to the doorknob. They could easily have reached in and undone the deadbolt. They must have hit it with incredible force for me to be able to feel it upstairs in my room on the other side of the house. (Some of the frame is also cracked.) But I guess I must have surprised them with the lights. I doubt they'll be back any time soon.
The funny thing is that I've had the house since 1999, and it was vacant for the five months that I was away at school in Oregon. This is the first time anything remotely like this has happened (unless you count the time thieves stole the battery right out of my car one night while it was parked in the driveway). There is also a mad arsonist running around the neighborhood setting fire to homes. It's great to be back in Muncie.
(If you found this interesting, be sure to check out this entry by Essay, who experienced something very similar last January.)