Neighbour reporting us to environmental health for a noise that only she can hear

[Mufferdoodle]

Soooooo arrived home this evening to a nice little letter from the local council, informing us that they’d like to come and investigate the nuisance noise coming from our house on Monday.

I can only assume this noise is the same noise that our next door neighbour has been mentioning at every opportunity for the last 18 months. She claims to be able to hear it at all times of day and night and it sounds like a heartbeat noise. We have never heard this noise but she put a letter trough our door about a year ago saying that one of the trades people who she had called out to investigate said noise had told her that it was 100% coming from our house (even though he also didn’t actually hear the noise).

As neighbours, I think we are pretty decent. We have 2 small children (who are in bed for 7 ish) we go to bed at 9 ish. We don’t play loud music, or make much noise at all really. We did look out for this lady (she’s in her 70’s) I’ve taken her out for the day, bought her a few bits for her house, check on her in cold weather etc etc.

The house is ours - it’s not rented. It’s in a nice quiet cul de sac and we get on with all of the other people who live nearby.

So question is - aibu to tell the council they can’t come poking around my home unless they have a recording of the noise?? I feel really upset and anxious about the whole thing and to be honest I’m 99% sure that neighbour has tinnitus as she has told me a couple of times that she can still hear the noise with ear plugs in.

What would you do??

Yes to pulsatile tinnitus, I have his it's my heart beat magnified to what appears to me as a really loud beep. It disrupts my focus on hearing I think, rather than drowning other sounds. I lose the ability to pick out other sounds. I would bet my hat this is what your ndn is experiencing.

In view of her age I think her tinnitus might be due to B12 deficiency. Can someone talk to her, or maybe get one of her relatives to talk to her about getting a blood test?
www.b12deficiency.info/signs-and-symptoms/

My DH can hear things which I can't. I don't doubt they're real...his ears are better than mine! OP make sure you update! I'm really curious!

Our elderly upstairs neighbour called the EHO reporting us for running a 'sweat shop' as he said he could hear sewing machines going all night. They called round and were quite apologetic for bothering us as it was obviously nonsense.
It turned out he had two hearing aids which were buzzing somehow.

She's got exploding head syndrome. So have DD and I. Her brain's making the noise.

The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe : D

Whilst I don’t doubt it’s your neighbour and not you, I was in a soundproof room at Alder Hey last week where my some was having a hearing test. It is odd when things are silent - you realise silence isn’t really silence after all, your brain just tunes out low level and ambient noise!

Anyway, yes invite them to come and record and hope that your neighbour sees a doctor.

Loopy 😂

For months I couldn’t sleep because I could hear a loud conitinual noise at night, my husband couldn’t hear it, my neighbours couldn’t hear it. So I assumed it must be tinnitus.

After struggling with lack of sleep for quite a while, I wrote about it on a local FB Page and got loads of replies saying they could hear it too. After a bit of investigating it turned out it was a generator...so just because you can't hear it, please don’t assume it isn’t there. Some people have very sensitive hearing. Let them come and if they find nothing then all good. This will be getting her down. Let her see if it’s there.

@ABuckToothedGirlinLuxembourg

I finished up sleeping on my sofa for several years because of a high-pitched noise that would start suddenly at about 2.40am every night. I'd be sound asleep, and jerk awake as it would start so loudly. I'd wander from room to room on the top floor, trying to identify what was causing it :( If I opened a window and stuck my head out I couldn't hear it, only in the house :( Over the course of three years the only night it didn't happen was one Christmas Eve. I'd fall back asleep as the noise of morning traffic from outside drowned it out. Never found out what caused it, at some stage I realised I was no longer waking up in the night, and moved back upstairs to my own bed. Nobody else could hear it :(

It might be a genuine noise - a low frequency noise which would probably have travelled from quite a distance. People are able to hear different things (just like people have different levels of eyesight) so it is perfectly possibly that she can actually hear something that bothers her. Equally, she might well be in need of support from an external agency (such as the Mental Health team or her GP). Please let EH in, we are just normal people . They have a duty to investigate and they just want to make sure they have investigated the complaint properly. The tipping point is whether you are making noise that an average person would consider unreasonable. So normal living noises don’t count - even if you have really really crap insulation between the houses. (It’s not me btw, I am an EHO but I don’t have any visits booked in for Monday!). You could ask the EHO’s if they have investigated low frequency noises.

Environmental Health will be looking, listening, for a REALLY BIG F'ING NOISE..... if they cant hear engines being revved or music blaring they will leave. Theyre not going to ask for specialist reports into a sound that isnt there.

You aren't in East Northants are you?

Honestly, just invite them in. She is bugging them (probably A LOT) and they have to go through a process before closing it down. There is no need to be anxious or resentful towards whatever poor minion they send out, and they will have a full understanding of the situation already.

Threeleggedcat - thanks for your reply! It’s always handy to hear from someone in the know! My house isn’t the tidiest at the moment due to having surgery last week, plus they want to come right in the middle of the day, maximising the time I’ll need to take off work. It’s pissed me off that it’s short notice and I’m going to lose money taking time off. That’s why I feel like telling them no. I don’t have anything to hide and I really hope she gets the help she needs (also kind of hoping for a for sale board to appear next door). EH we’re supposed to return my call this morning to discuss the situation but no word from them yet!

Showmetheelf - no, not in northants x

I have tinnitus and I'm partly deaf. The tinnitus has reduced massively since I got digital hearing aids about 4 years ago.

I do hear a hum at night, and investigation on my part leads me to thinking it's the freezer I can hear. Most of my higher frequencies are bad, which may explain why the kids can't hear it, they are also hearing other sounds.

So yes, sounds like the neighbour has hearing issues or tinnitus or something related.

OP, let the council in, it'll work in your favour proving it's not you making a noise.

Just saw your post, you may be able to rearrange a time to suit.

I wouldn't be losing any money due to this, I'd give them the days you're going to be in and schedule it for one of those.

Agree with KitKatCHA - say yes to them coming (to get her off your back and potentially get her some help) but at a time that is convenient for you.

So, she can hear a heartbeat sound, all times of day and night, even with earplugs in. Can you tactfully suggest that it might be...her heartbeat? Try this - stick your fingers in your ears and listen - you'll probably be able to hear your own heartbeat. It's always there, but usually our brains tune it out as uninteresting background noise. Sometimes that blocking gets interrupted and we can hear it again.

You could let them come and stand between the houses and see whether they can hear it, if you don't want to let them in.

I certainly wouldn't take time off work to meet them. I'd say I'm happy for them to come over and that I get home at x time and am about at weekends. Their problem to sort out not yours.

Anyway if she can hear it in her house they can go to her house and listen for it anytime of the day. You don't need to be in for that.

Professional experience here - this type of complaint is increadibly common and EH will have dealt with similar a million times before. I'd bet my mortgage it's tinnitus/audible hallucinations. EH will be able to rule out pretty quickly that it's a problem with your house, and provide appropriate support to your NDN.

If the time they've asked to come round is inconvenient then just tell them. They'll be able to find another time/date to pop round.

Do let them come though, they are there to support you as much as her.

Macavitywasframed - I invited her round for a cuppa about 6 months ago and we had a gentle chat about tinnitus and her hearing. I googled some information on tinnitus for her too. She said she would see the doc but I don’t think she did 🙄