I remember growing up during the cold war in western Germany which was formally under the control of the allied forces. So they were allowed to go supersonic with the military jet aircraft and frequetly did so, even in rather populated areas (by German standards - in general, Germany is much denser populated than the US). It was a bit annoying but definitely survivable (here I still am).

I think it was a mistake for the US to ban supersonic flight outright and especially at all altitudes. I can't imagine a sonic boom being a huge problem, if you are 10 miles up or higher.