As others have said, Brick Lane is a vibrant street with a lot of people on it well into the night, and yes you can hear them. Even so, I got by just fine by using the earplugs that the host provided (and I'm a VERY light sleeper). If you can deal with that, the location is great... about 10 minutes from the Tube station, and there are a lot of great restaurants within a couple blocks. Keep an eye out for the designer sample sales that happen right across the street!