It is much quieter in the middle of the pack, other than the sounds of the drivetrain and tires on pavement. Recent tests showed riding the middle of the pack expends the least energy. The air is very still, relative to the speed, and riders behind disrupt the airflow characteristics that can actually cause a little drag when riding at the back of the pack rather than middle.

Same principle used in designing aero kit -- skin suits, helmets, bikes, etc. Wind tunnel and computer modeling revealed some non-intuitive results -- a little disruption of the air flow can often be more efficient.

But it still requires testing or experience. I suspect the reason some folks have differing impressions of turbulence noise from the same helmet may be due to their preferred head/neck angle, ear shape, hair length (or bandannas or other head covering), etc. My older Bell helmet had a short flared tail extension that was popular with helmet designs in the mid-2000s. I could hear and feel slight differences depending on my head/neck angle. My POC helmet has no tail extension and seems less affected by head/neck angle. Same with my rounded aero helmet.

But riding the middle of the pack is risky in other ways, otherwise every rider would want that position in the peloton. It's easier to be trapped in a wreck, or be unable to respond to a breakaway. That's why many teams rehearse team tactics until they operate like clockwork, protecting the leader from wind resistance while rotating around him taking pulls. They work hard to prevent infiltrators from other teams disrupting the rotation, or boxing in the leader just before a mountain attack, etc.