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??

Any news OP?

I don't think the council can enter your house at this stage, more like put equipment in her next door place to record this alleged noise.

"Remember a few years back, when councils started installing devices in public areas that emitted an annoying noise at a higher frequency which annoyed teenagers but older people couldn’t hear, could it be a similar phenomenon?"

I don't see how because this is an older person. I don't think there's noise that only older people or the elderly can hear and younger people can't!

Is your house attached to theirs? Washing machines, dryers and dishwashers can make that sort of noise through walls or ceilings/floors. Though if your house is detached from theirs then it's probably trains on the railway line as you say.

Jaxinthebox - I called environmental health yesterday for an update! They didn’t give much away but said that they are no longer trying to record the noise with recording equipment (I’m guessing they’ve tried and found nothing as they told me that they had supplied her with the equipment) so apparently they are going to arrange a home visit to the neighbour when the noise is happening - the early hours of the morning! I had to laugh when they told me that. What a waste of time! Anyway, as long as they don’t come knocking on our door at 3am, they can crack on - they won’t hear anything from our house at that time. We are always in bed by 10 👍

It’s all so odd. She must be utterly convinced it’s you. I really hope it’s resolved soon, OP.

Is anyone in your family a really loud snorer ?

Could they possibly be saying they are not recording to see if you increase noise level?

Any update OP? Hope you weren’t snoring loudly when they came