How can I (or should I) learn to tolerate noise?

[G3CWI]

Earplugs. Get some good quality disposable ones. Howard Leight ones work well for me.

 

[sheffgirl]

One noise that disturbs me is when people leave their car/van engine running sat outside my house. The vibration/hum just grates on me. I wouldn't do anything about it though, because it just a personal thing, just me being odd

 

[classic33]

Earplugs. Get some good quality disposable ones. Howard Leight ones work well for me.

Don't cancel out that low frequency sound though.

 

[GetAGrip]

I've noticed that people who are obsessed with their leaf blower usnally have a fetish about their pressure washer as well. Very odd.

Wow, how very observant of you slowmotion!
New neighbours moved in across the road back in October, and I swear that Mr neighbour has power-washed every nook and cranny of his house, car(s) paths and drive on more than one occasion. Now, as autumn/winter rolls in, every fallen leaf from his bushes, shrubs and ornamental cherry dance wildly around the garden, directed by a large and extremely noisy blower at the hands of an otherwise seemingly happy and friendly feller.

I reckon he'd be better off getting himself a bike and fill some of his time taking a healthy ride through the local country lanes to see that fallen leaves are all part of Mother natures annual cycle . Mind, it would be slightly worrying if, on his second ride he went off on his steed with said blower strapped to his back

 

[steveindenmark]

When my neighbours have parties I am always invited round.

Whats the matter with you?

 

[raleighnut]

Wow, how very observant of you slowmotion!
New neighbours moved in across the road back in October, and I swear that Mr neighbour has power-washed every nook and cranny of his house, car(s) paths and drive on more than one occasion. Now, as autumn/winter rolls in, every fallen leaf from his bushes, shrubs and ornamental cherry dance wildly around the garden, directed by a large and extremely noisy blower at the hands of an otherwise seemingly happy and friendly feller.

I reckon he'd be better off getting himself a bike and fill some of his time taking a healthy ride through the local country lanes to see that fallen leaves are all part of Mother natures annual cycle . Mind, it would be slightly worrying if, on his second ride he went off on his steed with said blower strapped to his back

Yeah, he could strap it to the bike for power assistance up hills though.

 

[G3CWI]

Don't cancel out that low frequency sound though.

Earplugs don't cancel out anything; they work by attenuating the sound.

 

[damianr]

I picked up some ear plugs for peanuts from screwfix, they work like a dream (see what I did there?!)

 

[Kestevan]

I picked up some ear plugs for peanuts from screwfix, they work like a dream (see what I did there?!)

Cooo you learn something every day, I never knew peanuts had ears......

IGMC.

 

[User269]

I've noticed that people who are obsessed with their leaf blower usnally have a fetish about their pressure washer as well. Very odd.

Amazing. You live next door to me, but we've never met!

 

[2clepto]

I had a bad night last night . A large number of cars accumulated outside my next-door neighbours' house yesterday afternoon, then at 8:30pm the noise started: an incessant bass beat that was impossible to ignore. Fortunately for my sanity, it stopped around 11:30pm, but it was enough to raise my stress levels, and I could almost feel my blood pressure rising.

As a renter, I've had noisy neighbours before: in fact, my 3 previous rentals put me next to them. I've been at my current location for 3 years now, and it's been mostly quiet, but now even a small amount of noise is enough to make my stress levels skyrocket, because I just don't seem to have any tolerance for it any more. If I had the money (e.g. a lottery win which will probably never occur, but that doesn't stop me fantasising about one), I'd buy a place with a lot of land around it, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, where I can just get some guaranteed peace. My depression gets worse on nights like last night, and I start to think about taking a terminal option, perhaps not seriously, but definitely thinking about it.

Is it normal to feel this stressed about noise, or is there actually something wrong with me? I'm beginning to wonder if it's the latter. If it is the latter, what can I do about it?

Now I'm dreading what Christmas and New Years Eve will bring, and hoping my neighbours don't come up with something worse than last night .

earplugs. get the little yellow ones of ebay for a 1000 for a tenner. cut one in half, roll it in ones fingers, place in the ear as far as the drum carefully, then retract a few millimetres so as the plug is not touching the eardrum. mildly uncomfortable for ten mins, then the silent utopia you search for is in your little lap.

 

[Globalti]

Just reading the OP gave me an awful sinking feeling in sympathy! But it's heartening to know that I'm not the only one who is stressed by neighbour noise. My own problem has worsened since we were forced to sell and move when violent drug dealers moved in next door with three dogs that barked and whined outside our window all night as well as all-night parties with loud trance music.

At the moment I'm going through my own private little crisis over teenagers in the street who play loud music from some kind of gehtto-blaster; happily it never lasts long but it fills me with the most ghastly depresssion, probably it's a conditioned response from the old drug dealer days. Luckily our house is detached and the area quite decent so I can deal with night noise by putting in some ear buds and listening to music.I am occasionally woken by a nearby farm dog barking but as I've taken the time to get to know the farmer and I understand that the dog only barks when she smells foxes around the area it no longer bothers me.

Last summer a neighbour set up his flat-screen TV on top of the fence and invited a load of folk round to watch a cheese-rolling game. Unbeknown to him the TV is designed to send all the sound out backwards to where it reflects off the wall so we could hear it echoing around the houses incredibly loudly. I went round for a quiet word and they turned it down although he has been a little frosty with me since then. It's always better to go round for a quiet word; understanding the reason for thenoise is half the battle to overcoming the stress.

....and yes, you do become increasingly sensitive to noise as you enter your fifties. It's all due to the ageing process and the hormonal changes taking place in your body.