Can you turn off your digital cameras annoying shutter noise / sound?

Recently while on holiday I was taking photographs alongside my partner who was using a video camera. When we returned home and watched back the video footage, all we could hear was the click click click of my digital SLR cameras annoying shutter noise. It was then I pulled out my trusty EOS camera manual to see if the shutter noise was an option I could somehow turn off.

I soon found that it wasn't possible to turn off the shutter noise on my Canon digital EOS camera.

The click is a real hardware noise and not a simulated digital one that can be turned off at will.

What makes this digital SLR camera shutter sound?

The noise is made from the sound of your digital cameras mirror flipping up to allow light in on the sensor and from the shutter opening. A moving shutter is an important aspect for a camera with an exchangeable lens to help protect the image sensor.