I have a Dell inspiron 1525...I have found that now, after a year and half the fan has become loud and noise. So noise, I wake up in the middle of the night, hearing my computer cooling b/c the fan is so loud (even after I thought I had shut the computer down). What can I do to reduce the noise? Will purchasing a cooling base help reduce the noise? I thought I could get used to it, but I think I'm steps away from chucking my computer to the ground. I've owned a Dell before...I was satisfied, but saying this is a "common" problem is ridiculous.

There can be several reasons for the loud noise:
Something physically wrong with the fan, ie it needs cleaning, or lubricating (put a drop of fine oil on the bearings), or replacing - probably not worth it on a machine that old.
The fan is trying to cool the machine down and the air flow is blocked with fluff or other material. Try blowing it through with an air compressor - very effective. Use it on a hard surface rather than soft furniture or a bed cover. (Duvets are notorious laptop killers)
Something hitting fan blades, paper, fluff etc.

You need to buy a new fan, your fan is about to give up the ghost. if you let the fan die while the pc is running, it might burn out the cpu.

fans are very cheap, like a few dollars, and do not always last forever.