would you know what to check if your pipes started acting weird?

I’d start with observations, not repairs: check whether the pressure drop is throughout the home, look for any visible leak, and note whether the noise happens with a particular fixture. A leak or pressure that keeps worsening would move me to calling a plumber promptly; I wouldn’t guess at the cause or start taking pipes apart.

If the pressure drop affected the whole home but you saw no leak and it wasn’t getting worse, would you still call a plumber, or give it a little time to see if it passed?

If the whole-home drop were brief and the pressure returned to normal, I’d give it a short while to see whether it passed. If it persisted or kept recurring, I’d call a plumber rather than wait indefinitely, even without a visible leak.

Would noise and pressure loss happening together make you more inclined to call than either symptom alone, even if neither is getting worse?

Yes, hearing both together would make me more attentive, but not automatically call if they were brief and fully settled. If they persisted or came back, I’d call rather than keep waiting - even without a visible leak. A sudden worsening or any sign of water escaping would change that to calling promptly.

If I couldn’t tell whether the pressure loss was just at one fixture or throughout the home after a quick check, I’d lean toward calling sooner rather than waiting for it to persist. I’d value the reassurance of having someone assess an unclear change, even though that might mean paying for a call that turns out not to be urgent.

If a quick check still left me unsure whether the drop was local or throughout the house, I’d weigh that uncertainty against the call-out cost and lean toward calling if it continued. If it had already returned to normal and stayed there, I’d be more comfortable waiting briefly; reassurance alone wouldn’t make me call for a symptom that had fully passed.

For example, if the bathroom tap seemed weak, I’d briefly compare it with a kitchen tap while noticing whether the noise happened only when the bathroom tap ran. If the other tap seemed normal and the noise followed that one fixture, I’d report that pattern to a plumber rather than try to diagnose or dismantle anything.