# Could we just have a little quiet?



## Ruth n Jersey (Jun 7, 2020)

I am so tired of noise. We live in a rural area. A mountain in the distance in front of the house. Neighbors are an acre or two apart. We started out with 5 homes now maybe 30. 
You would think it couldn't be all that noisy and probably some places are much worse but all day long someone is cutting the grass,trimming, blowing,noisy kids in swimming pools with boom boxes blasting. 
I am guilty of ;mowing and trimming also but some noises could be avoided. Do you really need the boom box in the pool? Would you drown without it? Can't a car be washed properly without the music? 
Last night was the limit. My neighbors bought a contraption 6 times bigger than a regular TV and plopped it by their pool. It projected movies on the big screen with speakers that would put NASA to shame. They paddled around in the pool while watching the movie. 
I admit it wasn't blasting but I'm very sensitive to noise. One of my many hang ups I guess but it did keep me awake until about 12 midnight.  
I found this photo of my grandpa cutting the grass in the 30s. I remember the sound it made,almost soothing. He still used it for a long time when 
I was a kid. He hand clipped the whole yard. 
I guess it isn't feasible to use these anymore but I miss the quiet. 
I just had to vent. What will be next?


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## PopsnTuff (Jun 7, 2020)

Those neighbors are exhibiting 'so glad to be outta the house syndrome' for sure Ruth! Sorry to hear about their extreme noisy behavior...time to seriously comtemplate buying earplugs, any kind will work....and calling the law, remaining a concerned citizen over the phone and stating the loud music, etc. will get their attention....I had to do this a few times and the neighbors definitely toned it down.

All I hear is lawnmowers going every single day and dogs barking.....night time is pretty quiet tho.....except for the fireworks that have already started last month....they go off randomly....summer is always way nosier than any other season....one of the reasons I dislike it.


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## MarciKS (Jun 7, 2020)

They do the same thing here. Just yesterday the landlord after 3 yrs had to put some fencing up because the neighbor run up and down the alley all day and night on 4 wheelers to the point where I wanna go out and knock them off of it and choke the crap out of them. Between that and everyone using this alley next to the house as a through street and their outdoor visits where they have to shout at each other and the stereos thumping through my house and vibrating the damned windows and you can hear them before you can see them. Then there's the mowing and banging and hammering and sirens and omg! I have anxiety and all this racket along with all the racket at work is making me insane.


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## MarciKS (Jun 7, 2020)

I forgot about all the dogs. Holy Crap.


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## Ruthanne (Jun 7, 2020)

We used the same lawn mower or rather my dad did.  When I was in my twenties my husband and I managed the lawn where we rented for a reduced rent and we used one of those mowers.  I would get a work out every time I used it.

I know what you mean about noises, I am sensitive to them, too.  It doesn't help I live in an apt. bldg. where the walls are as thin as paper and you hear almost everything someone does, it can get annoying.  I am glad that most in the bldg. are quiet.  But the lady that lives next door to me sometimes has this loud mouthed friend over who talks quite loudly and screams and screeches and howls and it actually scares me when I hear it.  I am so glad she hasn't been here in some days now.

As for other noises, I hear construction work, ambulances, police cars, neighbors yacking loudly outside, mowers, car music blasting, kids yelling, motorcycles racing up the street very loudly--I had my windows open tonight and heard it all and am just tired now.  I so appreciate the time when it gets quiet out there.

If it gets bad noise-wise I shut my windows.  I also have a few fans I turn on to drown out noises heard inside the apt. bldg.  I find the sound of the fan to be soothing.


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## MarciKS (Jun 7, 2020)

Yeah my neighbor lady hollers at her company and whoever she's on the phone with so loud I can here her jabbering over here on my side of the duplex. She slams, bangs, thumps and bumps everything she has over there to the point I wanna tear my hair out. I'm cool till she wakes me at 2 or 3 in the morning and I gotta work. Then I get mad and bang on the wall and yell at her to knock it off. It's the only way I can get her to quiet down. People are so inconsiderate.


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## applecruncher (Jun 7, 2020)

Friends were telling me a few yrs ago that their neighbor's grandkids inherited their house, and all their visitors arrive on loud motorcycles.  Three, four at a time. Grrr.


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## MarciKS (Jun 7, 2020)

There's a family on the other side of the alley with a Harley but they rarely ride it.


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## C'est Moi (Jun 7, 2020)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I am so tired of noise. We live in a rural area. A mountain in the distance in front of the house. Neighbors are an acre or two apart. We started out with 5 homes now maybe 30.
> You would think it couldn't be all that noisy and probably some places are much worse but all day long someone is cutting the grass,trimming, blowing,noisy kids in swimming pools with boom boxes blasting.
> I am guilty of ;mowing and trimming also but some noises could be avoided. Do you really need the boom box in the pool? Would you drown without it? Can't a car be washed properly without the music?
> Last night was the limit. My neighbors bought a contraption 6 times bigger than a regular TV and plopped it by their pool. It projected movies on the big screen with speakers that would put NASA to shame. They paddled around in the pool while watching the movie.
> ...



I can't get over him mowing in dress clothes and a tie!!  

We live on a cul-de-sac on a river, so the summer noises make me crazy(er).   Speed boats, jet skis, drunks yelling and blasting music on the river and at the boat ramp; 4-wheelers up and down the street... ugh.  Then all the mowing, edging, power-washing, etc.  Neighbors to the side and back also have pools and we get to enjoy their music while on our patio/pool.


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## Rosemarie (Jun 7, 2020)

I do sympathise with you. We do live in a very noisy world. It seems most people can't function without music thumping in the background.


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## win231 (Jun 8, 2020)

Teehee.  You guys with normal or better-than-normal hearing should appreciate how noise bothers you.
I'm half deaf since birth & it ain't getting better with age.  Plus I have severe tinnitus & it's really bad when it's quiet; that's when I get to hear a loud, low-pitch generator and several high-pitch sounds in perfect harmony.
A few months ago, my neighbor apologized for his dog that barks frequently.  I told him I LOVE noise & I can't stand quiet & I asked him if he could make his dog bark more.


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## win231 (Jun 8, 2020)

Ruthanne said:


> We used the same lawn mower or rather my dad did.  When I was in my twenties my husband and I managed the lawn where we rented for a reduced rent and we used one of those mowers.  I would get a work out every time I used it.
> 
> I know what you mean about noises, I am sensitive to them, too.  It doesn't help I live in an apt. bldg. where the walls are as thin as paper and you hear almost everything someone does, it can get annoying.  I am glad that most in the bldg. are quiet.  But the lady that lives next door to me sometimes has this loud mouthed friend over who talks quite loudly and screams and screeches and howls and it actually scares me when I hear it.  I am so glad she hasn't been here in some days now.
> 
> ...


If you can hear everything your neighbors do, perhaps you should leave some oil on their front porch with a note:  "Please use this on your bed springs."


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## Ruthanne (Jun 8, 2020)

win231 said:


> If you can hear everything your neighbors do, perhaps you should leave some oil on their front porch with a note:  "Please use this on your bed springs."


I live in an apartment building and her apartment door is right next to mine and she lives in a studio one room.


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## Ruthanne (Jun 8, 2020)

win231 said:


> Teehee.  You guys with normal or better-than-normal hearing should appreciate how noise bothers you.
> I'm half deaf since birth & it ain't getting better with age.  Plus I have severe tinnitus & it's really bad when it's quiet; that's when I get to hear a loud, low-pitch generator and several high-pitch sounds in perfect harmony.
> A few months ago, my neighbor apologized for his dog that barks frequently.  I told him I LOVE noise & I can't stand quiet & I asked him if he could make his dog bark more.


I have tinnitus too and my hearing isn't as good as it used to be and the sounds I was referring to are Extremely Loud.


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## peramangkelder (Jun 8, 2020)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I am so tired of noise. We live in a rural area. A mountain in the distance in front of the house. Neighbors are an acre or two apart. We started out with 5 homes now maybe 30.
> You would think it couldn't be all that noisy and probably some places are much worse but all day long someone is cutting the grass,trimming, blowing,noisy kids in swimming pools with boom boxes blasting.
> I am guilty of ;mowing and trimming also but some noises could be avoided. Do you really need the boom box in the pool? Would you drown without it? Can't a car be washed properly without the music?
> Last night was the limit. My neighbors bought a contraption 6 times bigger than a regular TV and plopped it by their pool. It projected movies on the big screen with speakers that would put NASA to shame. They paddled around in the pool while watching the movie.
> ...


@Ruth n Jersey I know exactly what you mean
When my 2nd huz and I married we moved to a couple of acres because we were so tired of the continual noise
of 3 houses built right up to our fenceline. Every time anyone used their blower vacuum our TV lost it's signal altogether
Every time they sneezed we said 'Bless You' and the continual parties sounded like they were in our house
Where we are now there is about 100 metres (bit over 100 yards) on 2 sides between us and 2 neighbours
We are a corner house so only have 2 'actual' neighbours
Gosh I remember the push mowers too....made a lovely job of the lawn


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## katlupe (Jun 8, 2020)

When I was planning my move two years ago from my home in the middle of the state forest to a downtown apartment I was worried about the noise. But it is not bad here. Our maintenance man did start mowing the lawn here at 8 o'clock on Friday. I was up so it didn't bother me so much on the second floor but I wonder about the apartments on the first floor. Right by their windows. Then the garbage truck comes at 6 to empty the dumpster and makes such a lot of noise right near the apartment on that corner of the building. I like quiet too and for the most part it is quiet except for an occasional siren.


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## LindaB (Jun 8, 2020)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I am so tired of noise. We live in a rural area. A mountain in the distance in front of the house. Neighbors are an acre or two apart. We started out with 5 homes now maybe 30.
> You would think it couldn't be all that noisy and probably some places are much worse but all day long someone is cutting the grass,trimming, blowing,noisy kids in swimming pools with boom boxes blasting.
> I am guilty of ;mowing and trimming also but some noises could be avoided. Do you really need the boom box in the pool? Would you drown without it? Can't a car be washed properly without the music?
> Last night was the limit. My neighbors bought a contraption 6 times bigger than a regular TV and plopped it by their pool. It projected movies on the big screen with speakers that would put NASA to shame. They paddled around in the pool while watching the movie.
> ...


OMG, you sound like my 92 year old dad, who passed last year. It must just be age that finally makes us overly sensitive to daily living.


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## MarciKS (Jun 8, 2020)

Not just age LindaB. I have real bad anxiety and it's one of the symptoms. Noise sensitivity. But when people are being outright inconsiderate (which seems to be the norm anymore) and keeping people from sleeping that's bs.


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## Aneeda72 (Jun 8, 2020)

Well, I am the odd person out.  I love noise.  I grew up next to a freeway, later in life train tracks.  Got used to noise.  Then one of the small strokes I had damaged the nerve in my ear, and I lost my regular hearing for a while.

But my brain, since I couldn’t hear out of that ear, replaces no sound with sound.  Mostly a cow bell sound, and loud humming, almost lost my mind.  The nerve repaired to a certain extent, the ear hurts all the time.  I can hear, but the humming sound remains.  If it’s quiet the humming drives me insane.

I have to have noise to override the humming.  I love noise.  . When I’m in an apartment the tv is on 24/7, but I tried to keep it down.  Sorry for the rest of you though.


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## Don M. (Jun 8, 2020)

"Noise" is part of life....one would have to move to the middle of Alaska to avoid it.  However, I can understand the nuisance factor when neighbors get too rambunctious.  We, too, live in a rural area, and we sure don't miss the noise of the constant traffic and sirens, etc., that we had in the city.  One of our younger neighbors is a Harley Davidson fan, and he has several friends that come by regularly on theirs....but the occasional rumble of some Harleys is probably the worst thing we have....no big deal.  

It's so quiet here that sometimes, at night, we can hear a dog barking a mile or more away.


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## Judycat (Jun 8, 2020)

Same thing where I live. Kids on dirt bikes are the worst. The clock is ticking for them however. They go by on one wheel at incredible speed. 

Usually when it's finally quiet, someone has to fire up a gigantic mower, a chainsaw, or a piece of heavy machinery.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jun 8, 2020)

I do have a hearing problem and take my aids out when the noise really gets to me. This really doesn't help much. There are tones I can still hear without my aids and unfortunately they are the thumping from what they call music today and the mowers which are so loud to begin with.
When I work outside I like to have my aids in to listen to the birds and on occasion a "good" neighbor will stop by and chat. 
It just doesn't seem right that I have to remove my aids for a little peace and quiet and take a sleeping pills to fall asleep because of the noise from the pools.
I have considered calling the police but do realize this problem I have has a lot to do with my own anxiety issues. My hubby can sleep through any of it. 
I often wonder if it stems from my childhood. I was an only child and came from a very quiet family. In the 50s life was naturally more quiet than today. I worked in hospitals and nursing homes, which is another quiet environment.
I have tried ear plugs and find they do reduce the noise level but not enough. 
I'm sorry many of you have the same problem. I guess it is the way of the world.


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## LindaB (Jun 8, 2020)

MarciKS said:


> Not just age LindaB. I have real bad anxiety and it's one of the symptoms. Noise sensitivity. But when people are being outright inconsiderate (which seems to be the norm anymore) and keeping people from sleeping that's bs.


Sorry to hear of your anxiety. I think you would have to live in the middle of nowhere to escape it. Everyone's life/sleep cycle is different and when you're younger I don't think you are considering that when you are having a party or friends in your backyard pool. 
Believe it or not, I have a similar problem in my very own home. My husband gets up at all hours of the night and Lord knows what he does but our bedroom backs up to the kitchen and believe me, he doesn't think about the noise he's making in there...coffee, cupboards open, shut, microwave, etc . I'm sure he's not thing about the noise he's making. He's just going about his own routine. He thinks everybody should be up, lol.


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 8, 2020)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I do have a hearing problem and take my aids out when the noise really gets to me. This really doesn't help much. There are tones I can still hear without my aids and unfortunately they are the thumping from what they call music today and the mowers which are so loud to begin with.
> When I work outside I like to have my aids in to listen to the birds and on occasion a "good" neighbor will stop by and chat.
> It just doesn't seem right that I have to remove my aids for a little peace and quiet and take a sleeping pills to fall asleep because of the noise from the pools.
> I have considered calling the police but do realize this problem I have has a lot to do with my own anxiety issues. My hubby can sleep through any of it.
> ...


I was also raised in a super-quiet household and have never been very tolerant of noise.  I don't use 'background' music, unless it is classical motivation when working on big inside projects. 

What annoys me most is the revving of engines from an at-home mechanics place three houses from here.  He rebuilds race engines and they gun them from there to here.  The other annoyance is at the beach - The lake used to be a place for quiet contemplation.  Now, it's packed with motor boats and they rent jet skis - no silence, no solace.

It seems like there is some force driving a lot of folks to be as loud and obnoxious as they can be - perhaps, even competitive to see who can be the loudest.

I understand the need for yard care and I don't begrudge dogs for doing what they do, but these other things definitely stress me out.  

I think I will order ear-plugs, as suggested here.


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## Don M. (Jun 8, 2020)

Today, we have had more noise than we've had in months.  The neighbor across the road has some large Cedar trees that are getting too close to the overhead power lines.  So, the power company sent out a crew to take them down, and their chainsaws and their "mulcher" have been going strong for the past 3 or 4 hours.  But, our windows are closed, so it is just some moderate background noise, and if it prevents having a power outage in the future, the noise is well worth it.  It looks like they are just about done, so soon we will be back to just the chirping of the birds.


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## IrisSenior (Jun 8, 2020)

I am very fortunate to live in a quiet neighbourhood. Yes, there are lawn mowers, sirens, kids next door playing on their backyard trampoline but I don't mind. What bothers me the most is how loud my hubby likes the tv when we watch a movie at night.

People with hearing aids and cochlear implants (like me) cannot wear earplugs. I can turn my implant down if it is too loud out but then others sounds that I like (birds, etc) will be quieter too.

We also have a noise bylaw here.


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## MarciKS (Jun 8, 2020)

We do too Iris but we have a hard time getting it enforced.


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## peppermint (Jun 8, 2020)

We mostly have a quiet block...Except when we had one house always had people going in and out of the house at all hours....
The house was a wreck...When the Dad died, it went really bad there....So 2 years ago they were condemned.....Someone bought
the house...They made it beautiful...It's pending to be bought...It looked like a man and a Woman...they looked young....We are happy
to have the house bought...


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## fmdog44 (Jun 12, 2020)

There is an old Twilight Zone episode where a cowboy is thrust in to the future (our present day) and just the noise of daily life in the city drove him nuts.


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## Lewkat (Jun 12, 2020)

I lived in Manhattan for years, so noise never bothered me big time.  But out in suburbia where it is relatively quiet, noise does irritate me.  Go figure.


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## Sassycakes (Jun 13, 2020)

*It's funny I was born and raised in the city, until my husband and I moved to a more rural area almost 2 yrs ago. I am shocked at how much noise there is here compared to the city. Constant sounds of lawn mowers .alarms ,and so many other sounds. *


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## fuzzybuddy (Jun 14, 2020)

If your most irritating noise comes from your TV, what can you do to 'tone' it down? Maybe, earphones for your husband?  Is there anything comfortable that you can wear, which deadens  sound? Would earphones work for you? Instead of amplifying the sound, use them to dampen the louder sound from the TV, while providing just enough sound for you. Or you could get your husband;s ears tested.


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## JaniceM (Jun 14, 2020)

I wouldn't wear earplugs or any other device that blocks out noise.

Reason:  way back when Walkmans first became popular, I bought one;  after listening to a couple of cassettes, I removed the little earphones and heard a crash coming from outside the apartment.  Opened the door to see one of the managers breaking the glass to get to the fire extinguisher.  The apartment down below me was on fire!!  If I'd kept the earphones on awhile longer, I may not have been able to get out of the building in time.


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## jujube (Jun 14, 2020)

One of the reasons we sold the house we were living and bought a new house last year was the everlasting noise at the old place.  When I moved in with the Spousal Equivalent 10 years ago, the neighborhood was fairly quiet.  Then all hell broke loose.

The side of our house was on a heavily-trafficked interior street and all night long, people came and went with their car radios blasting...THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP...….   

There were three guys living down the street who HAD to be drug dealers.  24 hours a day, they'd leave the house, drive somewhere very close and return in 10 minutes.  Then 15 minutes later, one would leave again and be back in 10 minutes.   This would never stop.  I figure they were delivering drugs to people at the nearby 7-11 or somewhere like that.  The problem was that they'd have their radios BLARING coming and going.  

Our new neighborhood is quiet as a graveyard.  I LOVE it!  The only excitement is when the bears decide to toss a garbage can around.  Friday night late I'm sitting at the computer when CRASH-BAM-BOOM, something is hitting the garage door.  I get a flashlight and go out and the heavy duty trashcan is on its side.  I put it back up and go back inside.  Within a couple of minutes, CRASH-BAM, it's hitting the garage door again.  Again I go out and this time move the trashcan into the garage.  No sooner than I get back into the house than CRASH, the trashcan with nothing but yard waste is being thrown around.  So I go back out and put that one in the garage, too.  The next morning, I notice the neighbor's can is at the end of his driveway.  Normally, it's raccoons who are the culprits, but our raccoons are small and I'm not sure they can drag a big trash can down the driveway.  Gotta be the bears. They wander through the neighborhood on occasion.  Our back yard abuts a conservation area, so we're in their territory.


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## Keesha (Jun 14, 2020)

We live in a really quiet area and I prefer the peacefulness. There aren’t many houses on the country dirt road we live on and even they are quiet considerate neighbours. Since it’s the country sound can really travel and be heard far away so one needs to be extra careful especially early morning and late at night.  

Coyotes can sometimes  be heard howling at night or the hoot of an owl. On special occasional some folks set off fireworks but our township  has public firework displays which we never go to but can hear them. New Year’s Eve we are usually already in bed. That’s how wild and crazy we are.

My husband once asked his father how he could stand all the noise in the city. Once staying over night with us he asked how we could stand the sound of the blue jays   but I’ll admit that the blue jays around here especially during mating seasonal ARE loud.

Listening to the wind and a thunderstorm with the windows open is heavenly though. Right now it’s almost 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon and I can hear someone mowing their lawn in the distance. That’s the type of noise I prefer.

We get the occasional bear but nothing worth worrying about.


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## bingo (Jun 14, 2020)

yeah...the ear plug suggestion *sounds* good


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## MarciKS (Jun 14, 2020)

The earplugs only drown out just so much though.


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 15, 2020)

LindaB said:


> Sorry to hear of your anxiety. I think you would have to live in the middle of nowhere to escape it. Everyone's life/sleep cycle is different and when you're younger I don't think you are considering that when you are having a party or friends in your backyard pool.
> Believe it or not, I have a similar problem in my very own home. My husband gets up at all hours of the night and Lord knows what he does but our bedroom backs up to the kitchen and believe me, he doesn't think about the noise he's making in there...coffee, cupboards open, shut, microwave, etc . I'm sure he's not thing about the noise he's making. He's just going about his own routine. He thinks everybody should be up, lol.


Your husband's nocturnal activities are like mine.  It's one of the reasons that I don't ever want to share my house with anyone.  I know that I would be highly annoying!


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## Fyrefox (Jun 25, 2020)

Although I live in a semI-rural area, noise incursion can still be a problem.  Those who sport thumping car stereos may be surprised to find their hearing beginning to peter out when they reach their 30’s.  Then there are the motorcycles loud enough to be considered environmental assault weapons that literally rattle the windows, scare the animals, and drown out television or conversation as they pass.  Their owners (who don’t care about anyone’s rights but their own) will be long gone before police can arrive in the unlikely event of a noise ordinance complaint being made...


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## katlupe (Jun 25, 2020)

Before I moved here I lived on a dirt road in the middle of the state forest. The only houses nearby were hunting camps and nearby means a few miles between them. Sometimes the only noise was birds singing and the gentle sound of my wind turbine spinning. Then again some of the noise, especially at night after I have gone to sleep was ATV's racing, not only on the dirt road but in the forest where they are not supposed to be. Snow mobilers wouldn't show up in the day light hours at all. Around 10:00 PM was their time to gather and go for hours on our dirt road which is a designated "snowmobile trail". So can't complain about them. Kids partying in the woods across the road which has a creek with a waterfall and the Finger Lakes Trail lean-to......getting drunk and shooting off guns (and me praying they know there is a house here and don't shoot us or our horses). Hunting season was the worst........noisy hunters coming from all over. Not quiet hunters like my Daddy was. Driving their cars and trucks fast from one spot to another (I guess if they didn't know I could hear them, they didn't know the deer could too). And coon hunters bring their hunting dogs out at night and let them go........constant barking which made my horses run and race around their paddock the whole time. The hunters trailing the dogs in their trucks making all kinds of noise. Who wants to sleep?

Now living in a city is much more quiet. It may be my building is just so well insulated. I like quiet. So many people have to have a television going "for the noise" they will tell me. I like to watch something and then turn it off. Same with music. I listen to music often but not for hours. Maybe one or two CDs and that is it. My building is super quiet, but of course most of us are older or disabled. There are 3 dogs living on my floor and I never hear them. Two live in the apartment next door and one is big. I have never heard them make a sound. When I moved here I was figuring it would be noisy because I am right in the middle of downtown. It is not.


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