I think I'm one of the few that simply doesn't notice all the chatter much. It hasn't seemed as overbearing as some are implying in my experience. I know it is there, but it's not overwhelming. This might be because I'm not playing the game with headphones, and am running sound through my computer speakers.
That being said, I wouldn't be opposed to staggering the NPC chatter, and lowering the distance it could be heard from. I would still like to hear a dull buzz in the background when in a city simply for immersion. A city environment shouldn't be devoid of ambient sounds and the "hustle and bustle", but all of that also shoulnd't be so overwhelming as to distract the player.
