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Is there a way to not live in an apartment when you suffer with noise sensitivity? (UK only)

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Dagan said:
You should leave out for a day or so but leave loud war or porn movies on tv the whole time. Revenge time.
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Lol but meh.

My left ear has swollen up and now I can't fit any earplug in. You can imagine how bothersome that's becoming when I go to bed. All night on and off they walk around the bedroom above, stepping on all the creaky floorboards, dropping things on the floor, opening and slamming shut drawers and cupboards, and talking loudly.
My husband has to get up early for work in the morning.

I've emailed a polite message to the landlords about it, although I do feel guilty because I didn't tell my husband, I just done it on the spur of the moment and I'm not quite sure how he'd feel about emailing the landlords about it. But something has to be done. They're becoming inconsiderately noisy all night, and this time it isn't the kid. He's just noisy all day right until they put him to bed at like 1am, but once he's in bed the noise continues. Yes, we can bloody hear everything they do.

So yeah, not quite sure what to do about my earhole. It's not infected or anything, just swollen at the opening.
 
Cotton for the ears instead..? If you can handle the sensory feel of it, of course. I can't deal with cotton balls sometimes. It makes me cringe.
 
Misty Avich said:
I've emailed a polite message to the landlords about it, although I do feel guilty because I didn't tell my husband, I just done it on the spur of the moment and I'm not quite sure how he'd feel about emailing the landlords about it. But something has to be done. They're becoming inconsiderately noisy all night, and this time it isn't the kid. He's just noisy all day right until they put him to bed at like 1am, but once he's in bed the noise continues. Yes, we can bloody hear everything they do.
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Does your rental agreement contractually specify whether or not a noisy or disruptive tenant is their responsibility, or is it considered a matter strictly between tenants and law enforcement?

The latter in my case, making it far more problematic to realistically resolve such issues. Conversely a landlord likely has more leverage in comparison to make a noisy tenant reasonably comply.

Might be interesting to place a recording device halfway to the ceiling just to consider how audible and how often the sounds your neighbors above are actually making over a week or so.
 
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Does your phone support a noise meter. I have one on my phone and it useful in large gatherings when I think it is too loud?
 
Judge said:
Does your rental agreement contractually specify whether or not a noisy or disruptive tenant is their responsibility, or is it considered a matter strictly between tenants and law enforcement?
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It's privately rented, so it's the landlord's responsibility for anything including noise complaints.
Judge said:
Might be interesting to place a recording device halfway to the ceiling just to consider how audible and how often the sounds your neighbors above are actually making over a week or so.
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My phone doesn't seem to pick up sounds like that, I don't know why. One time I held my phone near the ceiling for a while and they were banging loud enough but all I could hear on the recording was my breathing. I'd have thought the phone would have picked up the banging, as it was much louder than my breathing, and I was breathing very, very quietly.
If I could afford a proper recording device I would, but bear in mind me and my husband are very poor and barely have enough money for groceries after the rent, bills and internet are paid.
 
Misty Avich said:
It's privately rented, so it's the landlord's responsibility for anything including noise complaints.

My phone doesn't seem to pick up sounds like that, I don't know why. One time I held my phone near the ceiling for a while and they were banging loud enough but all I could hear on the recording was my breathing. I'd have thought the phone would have picked up the banging, as it was much louder than my breathing, and I was breathing very, very quietly.
If I could afford a proper recording device I would, but bear in mind me and my husband are very poor and barely have enough money for groceries after the rent, bills and internet are paid.
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Good point. I'm glad you tried, anyways. I have similar sensitivities leaving me as a renter feeling sometimes just plain terrorized by external sounds I cannot control.

I'm guessing by the article I found below that some cellphones might be able to accurately record such sounds, while most others probably can't. Pity you couldn't record such sounds, save them in say a lossless audio format like .WAV and play them back on a decent stereo sound system that could reproduce those ugly low frequencies that drive people like- and I crazy at times. Something your landlord might take more seriously.

www.devicemag.com

How To Record Low Frequency Noise On Iphone - DeviceMAG

Recording low frequency noise on an iPhone can be tricky, but with the right tips and tricks you can capture some amazing sounds. Whether you’re a musician
www.devicemag.com www.devicemag.com
 
Misty - Get your neighbors' phone number and call them, repeatedly during the night if necessary, to complain about the noise they are making. They cannot control a 2-year-old so don't mention the kid. I don't see that you have anything to lose at this point.
 
Mary Terry said:
Misty - Get your neighbors' phone number and call them, repeatedly during the night if necessary, to complain about the noise they are making. They cannot control a 2-year-old so don't mention the kid. I don't see that you have anything to lose at this point.
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Your post reminds me of something I saw a few days ago in my apartment complex. We have one tenant with a very large dog who clearly demonstrates separation anxiety having been put out on their balcony for extended amounts of time on weekend evenings. Barking and howling for hours and hours.

(Our local laws are worthless when it comes to this kind of noise abatement.)

The barking finally stopped about a week ago. Hmmmm. I guess people closest to his building had enough.

Recently I noticed something very odd in that unit. All the Venetian blinds were torn to bits. Something I've seen before where dogs and blinds don't mix well.

Oops. At least we can't hear their dog anymore. :oops:
 
Mary Terry said:
Misty - Get your neighbors' phone number and call them, repeatedly during the night if necessary, to complain about the noise they are making. They cannot control a 2-year-old so don't mention the kid. I don't see that you have anything to lose at this point.
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Wouldn't that be
Definition of HARASS ?
 
"Harassment can be identified as unwanted behaviour directed at an individual with the purpose or intent of humiliating, disrespecting, intimidation, hurting or offending them."

Seems to me that it would be the OP's assertion to have no such intentions other than as a persistent attempt for the other party to cease and desist from the noise they are creating. Unrelated to criminal considerations such as blackmail, extortion, threats or physical and sexual assault apart from civil considerations.

Something I'd much rather defend in Britain than the United States.

Definition of harassment, abuse and intimidation

Harassment, abuse and intimidation are all terms with various social and legal meanings; in this section, we examine this terminology more closely.
www.local.gov.uk www.local.gov.uk

 
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I think I've finally figured out why sound from above is more stressful than sound from next to or below you. Please keep in mind that I am only talking about everyday noise, not parties or loud music or other forms of neighbour antisocial behaviour.
I have realised that (everyday) noise from above is more distressing because sounds from the room above seems to amplify. When I lived at home the living-room was directly below one of the bedrooms, and one time I was in the living-room and heard what I thought was a dictionary falling on to the floor. I went up there, my mother was in there, and she said just a light magazine had fallen off the bed. I wondered how a light magazine falling from a relatively low bed could sound like a heavy dictionary being dropped. And the answer to that is that sound amplifies when produced from the room above.
Might be a gravity thing.
 
Misty Avich said:
I think I've finally figured out why sound from above is more stressful than sound from next to or below you. Please keep in mind that I am only talking about everyday noise, not parties or loud music or other forms of neighbour antisocial behaviour.
I have realised that (everyday) noise from above is more distressing because sounds from the room above seems to amplify. When I lived at home the living-room was directly below one of the bedrooms, and one time I was in the living-room and heard what I thought was a dictionary falling on to the floor. I went up there, my mother was in there, and she said just a light magazine had fallen off the bed. I wondered how a light magazine falling from a relatively low bed could sound like a heavy dictionary being dropped. And the answer to that is that sound amplifies when produced from the room above.
Might be a gravity thing.
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Precisely. Total body weight coming down on a floor. Even when it is say a seven-year old at 35 pounds it makes a sound and impact on the hertz range much more pronounced as opposed to mere voices carrying between walls.

The difference between a sound that is loud, and one that is positively jarring.

Yeah, sounds across a wall can be annoying. Sound from below or above....enraging at times. My bad.
 
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They seem to be louder at weekends even though they're in all week. Me and my husband went out yesterday, but before we went out we heard them thumping about above so I had to wait in the car while my husband got ready. Then when we arrived home later that day they were still thumping the same, which went on literally until 4-5am.
But what can I do? There is nothing I can do, because they're not making any antisocial noise and the noise they are making is legal. But I can't live like this any longer, and it's so discouraging when people say "you won't get another place". Is it that impossible to move in the UK?
 
OK, I know this is way out there and probably not a reasonable option, but I thought I would just throw it out there...

Would it be possible to work an agreement with your upstairs neighbor to sway apartments? That is; for you and your husband to move into the upstairs apartment and the upstairs family to move into your downstairs apartment?

Just a thought.
 
Ken said:
OK, I know this is way out there and probably not a reasonable option, but I thought I would just throw it out there...

Would it be possible to work an agreement with your upstairs neighbor to sway apartments? That is; for you and your husband to move into the upstairs apartment and the upstairs family to move into your downstairs apartment?

Just a thought.
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I've mentioned this to my husband, but he says that would be pointless because we'd still hear them below. What he doesn't get is the only noise from them I can't stand is footsteps thundering from above. Hearing them from below might still be annoying but not as bad and I would be more able to tolerate it. It's not noise itself that upsets me, it's where it comes from and the way it travels.

I understand the only noise unbearable from neighbours below or next door is antisocial behaviour, such as loud parties, that sort of thing. But these neighbours aren't antisocial, they're just hell to live below because if the energy the kid has running around the apartment all day and the sound of its footsteps is like a sensory nightmare to me.
 
Misty Avich said:
I've mentioned this to my husband, but he says that would be pointless because we'd still hear them below. What he doesn't get is the only noise from them I can't stand is footsteps thundering from above. Hearing them from below might still be annoying but not as bad and I would be more able to tolerate it. It's not noise itself that upsets me, it's where it comes from and the way it travels.

I understand the only noise unbearable from neighbours below or next door is antisocial behaviour, such as loud parties, that sort of thing. But these neighbours aren't antisocial, they're just hell to live below because if the energy the kid has running around the apartment all day and the sound of its footsteps is like a sensory nightmare to me.
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Yes, I know that you have posted that before, which is why I mentioned the idea of swapping apartments.
Perhaps you husband does not understand the difference between a sensitivity and an annoyance?
 
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