Another neighbours and hot tub one

[nooverheadlighting]

I would love anyone's input here. AIBU to be really upset over my neighbour's new inflatable hot tub? For context, we are a family of four in a family neighbourhood. We do make some noise but just the usual family stuff. Sometimes music practice, singing etc can be heard from the garden but we mostly shut windows etc. Our children play in the garden too, but never late and not excessively.
Basically, we're really sensitive to our neighbour's noise dislikes as they live alone and have said they don't like the sound of children.
However, they have recently acquired a hot tub and it is driving me insane. We don't have big gardens. Ours is around 7m across and theirs 3.5m across. This means the tub cannot be positioned more than 0.5m from our boundary fence. It's on all the time, 24/7 with a hum that's impossible to tune out. We can also hear it from bathroom, kitchen and two back bedrooms if the windows are open.
We told neighbour this and at first they were fairly amenable, building a soundproof box to encase the pump. But it's barely made any difference and we're bathed in the sound as soon as we step outside. Neighbour has said it's just like a fridge and that we should get used to it as they've had to get used to our children. Literally, as in you have laughing, babbling, crying children, I have a hot tub, c'est la vie. Which has made me feel really sad because comparing children to a hot tub is just mean?!
Plus, our children are not outside all the time.. older one no more than an hour or so during the week, little one maybe more but always supervised and rushed indoors as soon as they make a grumpy sound (but apparently even joyful sounds have to be 'tolerated').
We haven't asked for the tub to be removed, just to be able to aid in building an improved sound dampener, with an expert if necessary. We are being friendly but honest in sharing how we feel because it's literally ruining our outside space. It's much louder than a fridge.. more like a substation. Our youngest says 'zzzzzz', making the sound of it when we go outdoors.
We don't want to fall out with neighbour any more than this and moving from this otherwise lovely neighbourhood seems rash and expensive.
What would you do??

The sound of the hot tub pump wouldn’t bother me. Kids practising their singing would drive me insane. We are all different as to what we are sensitive to

Wait until everyone has a heat pump exchanger in their back garden.

The hot tub will become yesterday's news in a few months. It's inflatable so it will leak, the pump will break and it will be left to fester until they get bored of the eyesore in their garden.

Patience . . . .

Hopefully they will get sick of it, especially when they see the price.
I totally understand op as I'm very noise sensitive. You could try some earplugs like loop. I carry a pair with me and use for annoying background noises.

It’s annoying but you can’t tell them what to do with their own garden.

Also, just because the sound of your children playing is joyful to you, doesn’t mean others feel the same way…

I'd hate a constant low level noise in the garden too OP. Have you considered putting up some wind chimes to distract from the hot tub hum?

It’s all subjective, the noise of kids bothers me far more than the hum of a hot tub. However I wouldn’t complain about either as unless you live in an isolated area there will always be noise. Sadly we just have to learn to live with it. Play music in the background etc and hopefully you will get used to it

Install wind chimes, what a great idea! You can add to the noise and upset more people other than the hot tub neighbours. There are so many many Mners who hate wind chines with a passion, they wouldn't thank you if they lived near you.

I like windchimes 😁

This...
Use your outdoors with no adjustments ie when the kids start to winge let them do it outside everything youve done to cater to them... dont do... if they cant be considerate, you don't need to.

Hi everyone, I appreciate all the insightful and funny responses, both those in agreement and disagreement! It sounds like the inflatable tubs are noisier than permanent ones and I also suspect the sound vibrates off the close fence making it louder.
I think this has been particularly annoying because we are considerate neighbours. We monitor our own noise levels as much as possible including moving to the other side of the house if necessary. We have always made sure any irritating noise stops when asked (we tell our neighbour to tell us if they're disturbed) and are the kind of neighbours who help out from time to time if our neighbour is ill etc. They are a self professed misanthrope sandwiched between two family home so we do our best to sympathise and modify.
With regards to soundproofing, all we were hoping was that they'd be up for finding an amicable solution, e.g. by allowing us to measure the pump box to get further advice and perhaps commission a new one, at our expense.
All of this has been done politely but has obviously really wound them up.
If nothing else, I will try to see it as another good life lesson in patience, compassion and peaceful negotiation!
Thanks everyone!

I have adhd and that kind of sound would drive me up the wall. It may sound melodramatic but certain sounds can honestly make my ears hurt and make me mentally exhausted.

I would have to play music and make other kinds of sounds and to drown it out. I couldn’t stand to be in my own home - let alone the garden - otherwise… I don’t thinks there’s anything OP can do. But I definitely sympathise!

Noise is very subjective. Personally I'd find it easier to tolerate a continual background hum than the noises of 'joyful' children, which I'd never know when to expect, how long I'd need to tolerate it for, or how loud and piercing it would be. I'm a mum and grandma so not child intolerant by any means, but there is not 'bad noise' and 'good noise'. Its all intrusive and effects people differently. So yes, YABU to think your own noise is superior to their's. You both just need to tolerate each other, and comfort yourself by remembering that hot tubs tend to be novelties that people tire of, so they'll be likely putting up with your noise long after its lying forgotten in the shed.

Don't worry, the novelty will wear off for them, it always does. I successfully talked myself out of a buying a treadmill the other day, it would just be destined to end up taking up space under a bed within months. Our neighbours over the back have a MASSIVE trampoline and our fences our quite low and for the first few months they had it there was always at least one child bouncing on it in daylight hours, often looking into our garden. It's pretty much just a garden ornament now. 😆

Neighbours got one jn covid, pump was a bit annoying. Didn't last long as the neighbour fox ripped it to bits. They never bothered getting another one!

What a knob.

My child free neighbour also got an inflatable hot tub. During lockdown. It was really annoying but they soon got bored of it and gave up on it.

Definitely start being less considerate about the noise the kids make. Also put the radio on when you’re out in the garden.

Yes this

What the hell has your children enjoying your garden got to do with an hideous, tacky monstrosity that emits an annoying noise 24/7?! Stop grovelling op you’ve done nothing wrong!

I agree with pp just ride this out, they’ll soon get bored.

I probably wouldn’t have mentioned it. They have tried by using a sound proof box. I would have thought it will cost them a lot to heat it 24/7 so that’s one consideration! Maybe you are more sensitive to that type of noise. My neighbours built a bar complete with outdoor speakers. Where we live it is really quiet. Then George Michael etc blasts out the street just as you’ve sat outside to enjoy the peace…🙄😂 I haven’t mentioned it because they are idiots and would probably turn it up louder…

Ha, my neighbour's kid has one of those balls and hoops. Pro: If they ever complain about any noise from our side, they don't have a leg to stand on. Or I'll offer to make them a deal that they get rid of the ball and we'll keep it down. Also pro: I don't feel at all concerned about any noise we're making because fair is fair.

'This will be a passing phase! An inflatable hot tub will be so expensive on electric to run'

This. Just grit your teeth I bet it doesn't last longer than 2months.

An inflatable hot tub! sounds horrific.

We just turn the pump on when we want to heat our hot tub. Am I doing it wrong?

I would stop caring so much about the noise you make. They clearly don’t really care whether they are annoying you. Hot tubs a hideous things, especially in close proximity to neighbours. You have my sympathy op.

See, I really hate the sound of other people's children ( I have two of my own). I prefer white noise like a machine droning. I can work with my dishwasher droning, for instance, but I can't work with another person talking on the phone very easily.

Which has made me feel really sad because comparing children to a hot tub is just mean?!

😂

The constant hum would drive me insane. Our neighbours kindly insulated and then moved their hot tub pump when the same thing happened. I felt like I was really on the edge and thought we would have to move as it was like torture. I was grateful for their understanding.