Hearing Noise In Flats

[KitFizz]

Hi! My partner is looking at buying a flat on the top floor (there are just two floors below) The building was built in the 1980's, it doesn't have concrete floors. He thought he would be less likely to hear noise from the flat below, so better for him, but he is now worrying whether the people in the flat below will hear him. His hobby is listening to his music, he has a big collection, and this is his main enjoyment/relaxation. Thing is, he does play it rather loud, often for a few hours solid every day, but never late at night. But the last thing he wants to do is upset the neighbours, as if they complain, he would be upset and then keep the music quieter, but he would then be wary about playing it, if there is the risk of it disturbing people. The people in the flat below are retired (but not hard of hearing) and are home a lot of the time. It is really weighing on his mind and worrying him, to the point where he has thought about soundproofing the floor with special underlay, which is quite expensive and no guarantee it would be particularly effective. He keeps trying to convince himself it will be ok, but wonder if he should pull out of the sale, incase he regrets it. Any thoughts please? 🙂

He needs headphones.

Hi. He does have headphones and they are ok for a short listen, but not really ideal for a long chill out listening session. He is currently in a mid terraced house 1980's build, and it is quite bad for sound, but the neighbours never complain about his music. He is wanting to move, due to one neighbour being noisy, loud door banging, crashing and banging things around, loud talking by one person in that house, due to the other person being deaf, so the other person has to shout. You can also hear them sneezing, snoring, going in cupboards etc, which wake him up early every morning. They are just heavy handed and noisy, which isn't helped by the poor sound quality of the houses - can hear the neighbours on the other side, but not as loud, as they are quieter people, don't even hear their dog barking. I can understand he wants to move, and he eventually wants a detached house, but can't do that at the moment. He sometimes wears ear defenders during the evening to block out the sounds, which isn't much fun, but I don't think a flat is a sensible move though, and I would just put up with it for the time being.

The heavy handed neighbours are probably trying to get their own back on your partner's loud music. I would think the last place he needs is an apartment.

I guess that could be possible, but then they are heavy handed with the car doors and anything they do outside as well. Also, the neighbours on the other side, he is friendly with, and they said the noisy ones have always been like that, before my partner lived there, so I doubt they are getting their own back 😏

He does have headphones and they are ok for a short listen, but not really ideal for a long chill out listening session.

Wireless headphones.

He could, but not ideal when he has anyone round to socialise and they listen to music together 😁 His current neighbours don't complain, so I would personally stay put if I were him, as it will cost him money to move, and he might still have problems. He suffers with anxiety and gets stressed out easily, so I don''t think this will be a sensible move.

I live in a flat and have neighbours who enjoy chilling out with loud music for a couple of hours most days. They don't use headphones. It's really annoying and disturbing, particularly the grating baseline. I hate those people and hope they move away.

I also enjoy listening to my own music, and I like it quite loud sometimes. I always use wireless headphones....a good quality, over the ear type. It took a while to get used to always using the headphones, but I like it now. I think it's actually more enjoyable than listening via speakers.

The thing is what might seem reasonable to one person would be hugely annoying to another. So you can't predict how the neighbors might react. I love a Sunday afternoon nap, I'd be really pissed if every weekend a new neighbor played loud music for several hours. I'd accept I couldn't do anything about it but I'd be pissed.

But moving into a flat he should think sound proofing. How can he lessen the noise? He needs to use rugs and carpet, maybe sound proofing panels, definitely something to stop vibration under the speakers, check the windows etc. Frankly he should sort all that out where he is even if he doesn't move.

The sound insulation is so bad in his current house he can hear sneezing, yet plays loud music.
No wonder the neighbours are slamming and banging. Them not banging the door down complaining doesn’t mean they don’t mind it.
He is very inconsiderate.
I’ve lived next to someone like him in a similar ‘can hear a sneeze’ house. We never complained but the stress of it made me ill. My MH has never recovered.
He’s a selfish arse.

I'd hate to be the neighbours!

Maybe he could try different headphones if he want 'long' chill out sessions.

Does his flat have underlay and carpet. That will provide some sound insulation. If it has laminate floors, I pity his neighbours.

Why can't he just play his music quietly? He knows he is being selfish and it's making him stressed. The obvious answer is to be less selfish, surely?

Where he currently is, the neighbours he gets on with, play their music so you can hear it, but I've often wondered if the sound of someone's music is worse when it is above and over your head, rather than to the side of you - am thinking about the bass sound. Think he needs to stay where he is, as the flat move would only be a stop gap between the current house and his next - deep down he doesn't really want to move, and only wants to do it because of the noisy neighbour, added to which, the noise isn't all the time, just certain times of the day.

I flat is carpeted - probably underlay too, he hasn't got the flat yet. He never plays the music in the evening or late at night, the noise from the noisy neighbour is often late at night/early morning.

I lived in a flat where the woman above me played music for a few hours a day/night very loudly. I was signed off work long term at the time for depression for recurrent miscarriages, it drove me insane. I ended up moving after having a friendly chat with her and asked her to keep it down to a reasonable decibel and she continued to play it just as loud.

It really can make somebody's home not their home anymore. I think your partner would be selfish to do this.

Flat, terrace, semi = headphones. Only old people play music out loud now.

What is considered old, I'm in my 40's, have a CD collection and play my music on a Ruark stereo 😁 🙃 I admit I don't play it loud though 😏Then there are the young people who are now into vinyl and have a turntable 😏

I agree, it can make life a misery and so you don't enjoy your own home. I say my partner plays the music loud, but a lot is down to the poor sound quality of the house, which could make it louder than it really is. I think what he is wondering, is if sound is worse when it is above someone (upstairs) compared to when you can just hear it a bit through the wall. His current house must be pretty bad, because when the noisy neighbour makes any really loud bang sounds, the neighbour the other side (so two doors away from noisy neighbour) can also hear the bangs, but not as loud as my partner hears them from his house in the middle.

If he wants so play music loudly on a regular basis, he need to find some place on its own, no attached to anyone. Utterly selfish to even consider it

It's impossible for him to be hearing them sneeze or close doors and them not be hearing his music, ongoing for hours constantly sometimes you have said, and admitted he plays it loud. It must be hell for them.

If he lives in any kind of flat/ terrace/ semi-detached house he needs to learn to use headphones. If he wants to be loud he should wait until he has a detached property.

Of course it will be hell for the neighbours, in either of the properties you mentioned, if he refuses to use headphones. It being during the day doesn't make it any better: many people are at home in the daytime, like pensioners wanting some peace, small children trying to nap, people working from home, night shift workers trying to sleep. People should have quiet enjoyment of their homes and your partner sounds like a nightmare neighbour tbh.

I can’t quite get my head around him playing music loudly for several hours but getting anxious about the noise of everyday living coming from his neighbours house. Don’t you point out to him how odd this is and how selfish he is being ?

So your partner hates noisy neighbours but tortures his neighbours with loud music? What a selfish pig!

That not true.

Listening to music loudly is fine at any age! If you live in a detached house and aren't disturbing anyone else.

Otherwise, you choices are be the selfish, horrendous neighbour that everybody hates, or use headphones.

It's just basic courtesy and respect for other people that you'd expect anybody over the age of maybe 18 to understand without needing to be told.

Another who just doesn’t understand why he doesn’t use headphones. I live in a detached house with great soundproofing but use headphones 90% of the time because I’m considerate to the rest of the household. Why should everyone else have to listen to my podcasts/music etc while they go about their general business, work, study or want to watch tv. I don’t understand about having guests over either, surely in that case it would not be loud as you need it at a volume where you can still all converse comfortably without having to ‘talk over it’.

And if he wants a party with friends and loud music he should hire a venue for that like every other normal person, not have it in his house with paper thin walls! So he can "chill". 🙄 Poor neighbours don't get to "chill" though, do they?