I do not think it is ridiculous at all. I have an office mate who always eats at his desk about 4 feet directly behind me. He chews with his mouth open and ta

I do not think it is ridiculous at all. I have an office mate who always eats at his desk about 4 feet directly behind me. He chews with his mouth open and takes his time eating his lunch. So I get an hour of lipsmacking and chewing noises every day. That hour is occuring right now and I am reading hacker news because getting anything done with that slurpy wet smacking going on is rather difficult. I am enough of an asshole to have pointed out I would like if he didn't chew with his mouth open, but not enough of an asshole to argue with him when he denied that he does. I also realize noise cancelling headphones would solve this problem, but I value being aware of my surroundings (I really want to avoid the situation where someone has to tap me or wave a hand in between me and my screen to get my attention). I have previously had other office mates who ate at their desks who did not bother me at all, but depending on a persons eating habits it certainly could be inconsiderate to your coworkers. Edit: For clarification we have a full cafeteria (where he gets his food) as well as other areas he could eat.