Noisy neighbours making me ill

[Keeley87]

Hi all,

I’ve never done this before but am doing so in the hope that some understanding, wisdom and maybe even some good advice will help me.

I recently just bought my first home with my partner. Unfortunately, now we’ve moved in we’ve realised we have very noisy neighbours. We have bought a terraced house but have been lucky previously in rented terraced houses so didn’t think this would be an issue. On the times we visited the house before purchase it was quiet too.

Anyway, the main wall backs onto their main wall and living room/dining room and they have a very busy household with teenage kids and can constantly hear bashing and crashing and banging to the point where I can’t relax and enjoy my home.

The feeling of sheer regret and panic I have is overwhelming and it’s now making me really sick. I’m having anxiety attacks, always crying, can’t sleep, constantly worried and triggered by these sounds.

I can talk to them, sure, but my worry is im asking them to be Conscious of every day noise and that’s not fair to them as the sound travel isn’t their fault.

I’m beginning to be severely depressed because of this, and it’s good to talk so… here goes nothing.

Is it just the one wall/room that you're particularly hearing noise through?

It might be that there is a kind of gap under the floorboards & wall which kind of creates a noise tube

It's one large wall in the living room/dining room. It's a fairly big space x

I'm fairly noise sensitive too and one thing I've found helpful is to create my own noise that helps drown out others'.

So if the neighbours are getting a bit much I'll put music/TV on, turn on a fan or dehumidifier, open the doors facing the traffic... whatever increases the ambient noise in my home to make other noises less noticeable and jarring.

Of course it'd be lovely to have nothing but silence and birds chirping some days, but it's not always realistic.

Hey,

Yeah that's nail on the head. I'm very noise sensitive and cannot tune out to it, so maybe I do need to create my own noise to help drown out theirs. I will try. Thank you x

You can get soundproofing wall panels, you'll lose a few inches off the room but you might find it's worth it.

Hey Nyfluff - I do want to look into this but not sure where to start/what ones we need

They play really loud music too so would need to be enough to drown that out too.

Thank you x

Something like this maybe? I think it would look really nice and cut down on the noise too. Plus a sound machine or something that plays nice noises you like? www.audimute.com/premium-acoustic-wood-alternative-planks?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0K-HBhDDARIsAFJ6UGjCFcOT4fWsz4v0MLxIQSpUUiUfjLVBBr8rciNR4yIbVLoYmgzFYNkaAucqEALw_wcB

They're lovely! However I'm in the UK but can see if we do something similar.

I think some people are more noise sensitive than others. I don't do anything out of the ordinary but my downstairs neighbours are always agitated by every day noises. I hear them moving around too/pet noises/doors closing etc but I'm not as bothered by it.

So if it's a case of noise sensitivity, I think the onus should be on you, OP to find a solution that works. I think the anxiety may potentially make you more sensitive and perhaps taking control of your environment might help. I think you've had some good suggestions.

I agree. Very grateful for someone to talk too and the advice given so far

Hi @Keeley87, I’m another noise-sensitive person with incredibly loud neighbours so I utterly empathise!
I’ve built bookshelves in the alcoves either side of the fireplace on our shared wall as I love books and they have a bonus effect of providing a little bit of noise dampening. Upstairs I’ve put my wardrobes on that wall for the same reason, and I bought myself some heavy duty ear defenders so that I can still sit out in my garden. None of these things block it completely, so you also probably need some relaxation techniques so you can control your response to it. I use the Headspace app, and one called RelaxMelodies.

I would definitely invest in a pair of noise cancelling headphones. It will change your life

I wear ear defenders when the neighbours are being loud. I don't have noisy neighbours but even the sound of the radio winds me up. It's not their fault so I won't say anything. I've found that the ear defenders are a total game changer. They are a bit uncomfortable at first but you get used to them.

Sound insulation plaster board. Best £200 I've spent. Lost an inch of room, gained virtually total silence.

@sunbird24 - thank you so much. Do you know even just knowing I'm not on my own feeling this makes me feel like less of a crazy person.
I can't believe how many other people have. Noisy neighbours, I must have been the luckiest person alive at my last place then!!
That's really good advice though, you're right. At the moment I'm watching my TV in quiet just letting the noise wind me up but I'll deffo take your advice on board. Thank you x

@makemineamediumone was it honestly really that easy? At the moment I've been researching professional websites thinking this is going to cost me an arm and a les. I'll 10000% lose size on the room if it means less noise and not feeling like this! X

I feel as though I've written this post myself. Full sympathy OP x

We got sound proofing downstairs - we did lose a small bit of space but it was worth it. My FIL is a builder so luckily he helped us put it up. Firstly they put a wodden frame along the wall and then filled that with rockwool. Then the cover that with panels and then plastered over that. They sealed all the edges with some acoustic gel thing.

We can’t hear any noise downstairs now - we used to hear the neighbours TV and them talking.

Not quite the same but I have misophonia, so just can't cope with certain noises that other people barely notice. I've found over the years that the more I focus on the noises the worse it gets, in a horrible downward spiral. It really is on me to use distraction techniques to try and redirect my focus from those noises.

There are also special ear plugs you can buy, think they're called Flare Audio by Calmer and they're supposed to be great at reducing noise.

I used sm20 panels for a wall and if worked really well. We got them from soundstop uk who were excellent on the phone- incredibly helpful at talking through options.

Also get flares ear plugs

@PragmaticWench I have misophinia too! It's just awful isn't it. I don't hear many people that know the word tbh so it's comforting in a way to hear that. But also sorry you have it xx you're so right.

Do you know what yesterday I was up all night in a state of absolute despair and all your kind messages have genuinely really helped. You're lovely people x

I had the walls soundproofed when noisy neighbours moved in. It slightly muffled the noise but it just diverted it through the fireplace and floorboards.

@Keeley87 I was a bit glib, but it wasn't that far off it. It comes in panels so I put up some simple wooden batons on the wall then slotted the panels in. They're very light and easy to manoeuvre so the hardest bit was screwing the plaster board onto the wooden batons. Didn't fancy attempting plastering so put wallpaper on it. It won't hold anything heavy and it's definitely taken space off the room but on the other hand I heard NOTHING from the England match on Sunday and only hear noise now when I open my window. Acoustic soundproofing is the way to go.

I have same problem with neighbours, i have to wear earphones moat evening's as have both sides of neighbour general house hold noise and nuisance noise. Not much else you can do but save up for semi or detached.