Emmy’s Noisy Neighbors
[Emmy] seemed a bit out of sorts tonight due to the near-constant squeaking, banging, and thumping she hears from the neighbors above. I tried consoling her. But as I’ve found, there’s not a whole lot she can do about it besides the following, imperfect solutions:
- get used to wearing earplugs most of the time,
- wear sound-deadening headphones a lot,
- run fans, Sleep Mates, or other white noise generators all the time,
- spend lots of time away from her apartment so she doesn’t have to hear as much of the racket,
- just put up with it (how do you do that?),
- talk to a therapist about possible psychological solutions for becoming more tolerant of the noise (this can take years),
- move to another apartment in the same building (it could be better but might very well be worse)
- or move out altogether.
Faithful readers will recall that I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of noisy neighbors over the years. In fact, people shouting, pounding, and stomping about has driven me from several otherwise wonderful apartments. I especially hated the routine door slams, barking dogs, and curses. So, I know just how difficult a legal solution to the problem is to come by, and the way I handled it best, was to move out. Why? Because:
- Directly approaching the offending neighbors can worsen the situation, since some folks intentionally make more noise once they know that they’re bothering someone. Cruel. So, the thought of direct negotiation with these neighbors intimidates [Emmy]. In all my cases, I did approach the offenders and at best, the noise levels remained the same; at worst, they got louder.
- Landlords are typically uncooperative (in my experience) and have rather limited legal powers anyway, in the remedies they can apply. They can’t just kick out a noisy tenant, particularly in the sort of subsidized housing where [Emmy] currently resides.
- Lawyers cost a lot more money than [Emmy] has.
- Plus, if the noise isn’t extremely loud and / or repeatedly and frequently heard by others (witnesses who agree to go to the court and testify), the degree to which noise irritates is very difficult to prove to a judge, even if you record it. Tape or digital recorders just cannot reproduce the full extent of the low rumbles and thunder-like crescendos of repeated door-slamming and rickety rocking chair thumps and squeaks for example. Their playback always renders the noise much softer and therefore, less obtrusive than it actually is.
- A plaintiff is likely to receive no sympathy from a native, city judge who grew up in a bustling area. After all, he’d be used to such noises and would therefore, implicitly deem them insignificant. He might even chuckle a little, before dismissing the case.
- And finally, even if the noisy tenant is removed, another may move right in. Then, the whole process of getting them to stop must start all over again. Yuck!
So I very much feel for [Emmy]. Sadly though, it’s harder for her to move (if moving was ever easy), than it was for me.
So I offered to bring her here to stay with me if she finally decides that she really can no longer bear the noise, until we devise some quieter housing for her. In the meantime, she’ll practice with the earplugs I gave her, and try the Sleep Mates. Plus, she’ll mention the problem to her therapist this week and get his input. He may know of coping mechanisms that I do not.
Hopefully, she, unlike me, will find a way to live comfortably where she is, with the noise intact. But if not, we’ll figure something out before summer arrives.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
[Emmy] received the SleepMates today. We’ll have to wait and see how they work for her.