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Dealing with noise

Posted , 8 users are following.

nick21824
nick21824

Hi again folks, just wondered if anyone would have any tips or experience of dealing with noise.

My problem, is my neighbour, a garage, who from time to time revs car,s vans etc. Now while I can deal with it sometimes, other times it sets me of, I tense up, agitated, and basically want to bury my head so it stops.

It seems to be certain noises and sounding engines and traffic noise that set me off, and we live on a fairly busy street.

Now it is my intention to take legal action, against my neighbour, eventually when I'm in a better place, I still need to be able to deal with noise, any tips from you, greatly appreiciated thank you.

0 likes, 27 replies

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  • celtics
    celtics nick21824

    Posted

    nick when out side of our flat was getting getting worked on i got yellow 3m earplugs from b&q they worked a treat.! try them bud david
  • archemedes
    archemedes nick21824

    Posted

    There are limits to govern what is an acceptable level of noise that people can produce without being a nuisance, and before you commence any form of legal action you need to know what level is being produced by your neighbour.

    If you fail to check this, and those levels are below what is considered acceptable, then you are in danger of being laughed out of court.

    In the UK the local councils are generally responsible for taking action where there is a clear case of noise pollution, so it should not in any event be necessary for you to personally launch yourself into legal proceedings.

    I suppose the real question is, are you suffering from any form of depression, anxiety or very sensitive hearing which might cause a perceived exaggeration in the extent of any ambient noise?

    If the latter is the case, then Celtics' suggestion of earplugs might be the answer for you.

    If the noise is perceived by everyone as unreasonable, then you might have a case to put before the local council, but what you might have to take into account is that you chose to live in a busy area - the busy area did not invite you to live in it.

     

  • loxie
    loxie nick21824

    Posted

    I so sympathise Nick.  Regardless of what is considered 'acceptable' or 'reasonable' some noises just irritate to the point where it feels like a drill in my head.  My neighbours are noisy, however not the level where I could possible take legal action against them.  They do however manage to sound like a herd of elephants climbing the stairs, open and shut wardrobes doors at least five times in a row and by slamming them rather than quietly.  They play music with a heavy base note, not loud enough I'm pretty sure to be legally wrong in any way but the base note reverberates through the structure of the house and I can feel it through my pillow late at night, which keeps me awake.  Their voices are naturally loud and they congregate in the room next to my bedroom and have animated late night conversations - no sleep again for me.  One of them works shifts and rises for work at 5am, I know the exact time because creaking boards, slammed doors, refil noise from loft tank, etc etc regularly wake me up at this time.  What to do, the noise is upsetting but I'm sure within acceptable limits.  We just have poorly insulation party walls etc.  I would guess I'm now more sensitive to it as I know its going to happen and keep me awake and lack of sleep makes me even more irritable and with shorter patience levels.  Vicious circle.  Modern life expects us to cope with more and more noise pollution and those of us who are sensitive to noise end up suffering.
    • hypercat
      hypercat loxie

      Posted

      Hi I don't think that is within acceptable limits and they are definitely nuisance neighbours.   Next door to me moved in a guy who had parties but it wasn't that so much but the loud voices,  slamming of doors and swearing at all hours etc.  They got evicted. 

      So if I was you I would contact the Environmental Health through your council and keep a diary of the noise,  dates,  times,  what happened,  and most importantly how it made you feel.  EH will investigate whether or not it is acceptable and if not will be able to take action against them.  x

       

    • loxie
      loxie hypercat

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply hypercat.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get anything official done about next door's noise - using the stairs and opening their wardrobe door would be laughed at as a complaint, it's a combination of poorly insulated party walls and people who are just inconsiderate of others in their day to day lives.  I did complain once about the music volume and they turned it down but the base notes still reverberate even at a volume that wouldnt be considered unreasonable.  They're nice enough people but have loud speaking voices and are obviously used to living in a household that's noisy generally.  I just don't cope well with continuous background noise and it would be lovely to have silence just for a little while.
    • nick21824
      nick21824 loxie

      Posted

      Loxie you have a case, there is no noise limits really, If noise effects your quallity of life, well then if your in the right frame of mind call the enviromental dept, or maybe consider soundproofing the wall, some cost involved, but your sanity would be better, feel for you, best of luck
    • hypercat
      hypercat loxie

      Posted

      Normal use of a home would not be considered Loxie but this is not normal use is it?   I don't think it is.  

      Do you ever watch .Neighbours from hell'?  There a case just like you describe and the neighbours took legal action against them and they were evicted.

      Ring up Environmenta Health and ask anyway.  What have you got to lose?   Or google it.  x

  • MikeP
    MikeP nick21824

    Posted

    Horrible situation to be in and one i can sympathise with, we used to live in a beautiful area with no traffic and now housing developments have seen our garden backed right up onto houses. It is so hard to come to terms with noise when you are used to piece and quiet. Hope the issue gets resolved for you Nick
    • loxie
      loxie MikeP

      Posted

      That is so tragic Mike, planners arent required to take psychological wellbeing into consideration when approving such schemes but they should!  This always reminds me of Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell - 'they paved paradise and put up a parking lot'. 

      Nick - regardless of any further action you can take against the garage, I would definitely recommend that when the noise gets to you, leave the house and go somewhere quiet and peaceful, even for a short period, if possible.  It will calm you and even if the noise is still there when you return you may be able to cope with it better. I really do feel for you.

    • nick21824
      nick21824 MikeP

      Posted

      We live in a village, and while the garage was there it was not a busy, and one mechanic, now 2-3 mechanics, and a lot more activity, also the village has at least trebled in population, so the main street active also.

      I wont make the same mistake again if and when I move again.

      The most exspensive thing we buy, and how easy it can be ruined by a selfishness, greedy, and thoughtless society 

       

  • evergreen
    evergreen nick21824

    Posted

    Hi Nick, I don't have any advice, just sympathy! I live in the middle of farm land and at this time of year (well from late November right through summer) we have gas gun bird scarers going off. Some years are worse than others, but when it's at it's worst it is around 30 bangs a minute! I kid you not. All sounding like a loud shot gun. They go off from the crack of dawn until after dusk. Sometimes they malfunction and go off intermittently thrrough the night making sleep impossible. You are just lying there waiting for the next bang. So now as soon as they start in the year, I get into a state of high anxiety. It is just awful. If one is malfunctioning, I ring the farm manager who then says 'which one?' Well how the hell should I know? The only way for us to find out is to wander the fields with a torch in the dark, waiting for the next bang (which can be 30 minutes apart so a long tiring job to locate the thing). We thought that moving to the countryside would be peaceful...
    • nick21824
      nick21824 evergreen

      Posted

      I wish I had some constructive advice for you, I feel for you and hope you get some sort of resolve in the near future.

      Regards Nick

  • hypercat
    hypercat nick21824

    Posted

    Hi Nick I think you have more rights as it is a business and part of the agreement for a business near residental properties is the well being of it's neighbours.  Councils can take action against 'unreasonable noise' so it is worth your while investigating this with them.  x

     

  • nick21824
    nick21824

    Posted

    Thank you, for the replys folks.

    I find that even when things are quiet, im waiting and listening for it to start, again, which is a complete waste of life I know. Just coming out of a bout of depression, partly caused by this situation.

    Im over sensative to noise now, hence the traffic noise and certain engines as a result of recording, noise levels last year, prior to my bout. I had to take a step back from it, for the time being

    Any of you who,s quality of life is affected by noise, regardless of noise level, has a case to be answered, by the enviromental dept.

    Thanks again for your comments, all the best for the future  

     

    • hypercat
      hypercat nick21824

      Posted

      Hi Nick I once had very noisy neighbours in London.  They played very loud music evening and even in the wee small hours.  It was so loud the wall,  windows and my bed would vibrate. 

      The worst thing I found was when it wasn't on as I couldn't relax because I was dreading it starting with the sick feeling that would come to my stomach every time.   It got me very depressed and I couldn't settle or even eat properly.    I emphasise with how you are feeling. 

      Nowadays all I have to hear is a bit of music from a neighbour and I overreact because I have never got over it.  It's terrible isn't it? 

      I hope you can get it sorted.  x 

       

    • nick21824
      nick21824 hypercat

      Posted

      Yes it's overwhelming,  last sat evening we had to listen to a car with no exhaust, being rev'd on and off for aroung 4 hours. And while I thought I had mastered ignoring it, the feelings started to rise again, hence why Im looking for other technics to help deal with it next time.

      The thing is all the neighbours complain, behind closed doors, but wont do anything, and one of them is an army officer, and they have had to deal with it longer than me, its been left to me and my 78 year old neighbour to sort out.

    • loxie
      loxie nick21824

      Posted

      I really feel for you Nick.  Noise like that is totally unacceptable.  I can relate to what both you and hypercat have said - that is, even when there's no noise, we're on edge waiting for the next lot.  I've found myself waking up at precisely the time my neighbours get up in the early hours, even if there's no noise at that moment.  It's so stressful and can really make life unbearable.  I have fibromyalgia, which my GP told me is often stress related - my inability to cope with noise has obviously increased my anxiety with the knock on effect of making me physically unwell.  I just dream now of living in a silent cave somewhere (I bet there'd be dripping water somewhere in the cavern to annoy me however - smile).
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