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Neighbor making noise

Begonia

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Feb 2, 2011
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They moved in about 3 years ago, family of 4 - 2 teens, parents and 2 dogs. Immediately the noise started, with unsupervised teens having parties til all hours or recently the dog whining, yipping and barking until late (11, 12, 1 and beyond). I tried approaching them 2+ years ago but they wouldn't answer the door so I left a hand written note explaining I'm an essential shiftworker, up at 4 am some days, could they keep the noise down past 9 pm. They continued. At one point the teen son would jack his music when I did pm shifts, as soon as my bedroom light went on. We put on black out curtains.

They leave their dog outside 24/7 and as dusk approaches he starts whining, progressing to yipping and barking. I was advised to call the police nonemergency line and constables would make a visit. The last 2 nights have been bad with the dog, waking us all up at 1130 and continuing until 1230. I'm so tired from lack of sleep I can hardly see straight. I have to be up at 4 am. The constable left a voice mail and was clearly unimpressed with visiting the house 2 nights in a row and said "he heard nothing so please only call if there has been uninterrupted barking for an hour or more". Being exhausted and furious i left him an interesting voice mail, that I'm not proud of, but stand behind. So now I try the bylaw officer and hope to open files that will fine these people. I'm told it's anonymous but who can really know for sure. Moving is not an option, not even close. Tried noise canceling headphones and fans and ear plugs but our yards are small and the dog is 25 feet from my window. I can't sleep anywhere else as this is the most remote BR and I'm in bed by 8, 9 at the latest. So tired I'm ready to cry. Seriously, I could beat the crap outta those owners, I'm that tired and emotional. I'd sure welcome some wisdom here. I sleep a little when I get home, if they aren't playing music.
 

Musia

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I am very sorry for your lack of normal sleep and stressful work schedule. What a nasty people! :x2:angryfire::angryfire::angryfire: What about other neighbors? I think it will be easier for you to complain and be getting positive results if there are several families complaining. The other people don't wake up at 4am, but hearing the doggie barking late at night is not a pleasant thing for anyone.
 
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redwood66

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I'm so sorry. Ugh I feel for you having had the same thing happen. At least my neighbor finally put a bark collar on the dog. He worked out of town for weeks and the dog lived outside with only a relative showing up to feed it every day. Terrible owner. Imagine my chagrin when I saw that he gave the dog to the new homeowners! At least they love him and he's much happier and doesn't bark 24/7.

@Musia has a good idea about enlisting other neighbors if you can.
 

MaisOuiMadame

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I'm sorry begonia! Lack of sleep is true torture!


Do you happen to have a nest cam or similar home surveillance system?
Ours is also noise activated and records up to 100 incidents in a cloud. That's a convenient way to prove the noise to police.




Our neighbour is very unpleasant as well and started yelling obscenities (we live in a gated community and he's an extremely uppity lawyer... :roll: money can't buy class) at my children two weeks ago because he'd been woken up at 6 a. m. by a different neighbour that day and thus was in a foul mood.

He said we'd been loudly laughing outside all day.


I quietly showed him my camera logs, that stated we'd only been outside from 4.08 p. m. until 6.37 p. m., quietly having cake. Kindly proceeded to asking him to please watch his language around my children.
Can't argue with facts.
 

OoohShiny

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I'm sorry begonia! Lack of sleep is true torture!


Do you happen to have a nest cam or similar home surveillance system?
Ours is also noise activated and records up to 100 incidents in a cloud. That's a convenient way to prove the noise to police.




Our neighbour is very unpleasant as well and started yelling obscenities (we live in a gated community and he's an extremely uppity lawyer... :roll: money can't buy class) at my children two weeks ago because he'd been woken up at 6 a. m. by a different neighbour that day and thus was in a foul mood.

He said we'd been loudly laughing outside all day.


I quietly showed him my camera logs, that stated we'd only been outside from 4.08 p. m. until 6.37 p. m., quietly having cake. Kindly proceeded to asking him to please watch his language around my children.
Can't argue with facts.

I resent the fact that we are increasingly feeling the need to record everything "just in case", but it does sometimes come in handy... lol
 

Begonia

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Yes, hadn't thought about a 'nest cam', hadn't even heard of one til now. That would help record concrete evidence. The dog does make noise beyond continuous barking with the whining, yipping and throwing its metal bowl. This guy has good ole boy sweet talked the cops and the voice mail I got suggests I'm a little lady making a mtn out of a molehill. So much for one essential worker supporting another. The msg made me so so angry, now I'll have to deal with the fallout of leaving a voice mail that was furious. So be it.
 

kenny

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I really sympathize!!!!

I have the same problem.
Worst neighbors ever.

It can really damage one's peace of mind.
 

OoohShiny

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If you have over the ear noise cancelling earphones, supplement them with some of these:


-33dB attenuation is a LOT!

I use them for band practice, and when pushed in and sealed fully, they cut out what subjectively feels like 90% of the noise :)

They are also so soft that I have thought I've lost one before and got a new one to put in, before realising I already had one in... :lol:


Personally speaking I don't like sleeping with restricted hearing, but then I've also not had to suffer selfish/belligerent morons, so I may well change that position at some point in the future :D
 

MaisOuiMadame

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Yes, hadn't thought about a 'nest cam', hadn't even heard of one til now. That would help record concrete evidence. The dog does make noise beyond continuous barking with the whining, yipping and throwing its metal bowl. This guy has good ole boy sweet talked the cops and the voice mail I got suggests I'm a little lady making a mtn out of a molehill. So much for one essential worker supporting another. The msg made me so so angry, now I'll have to deal with the fallout of leaving a voice mail that was furious. So be it.

Sorry they weren't more helpful! That sucks.
I'm seconding @Musia to also enlist the help of more neighbours. Police can't ignore multiple complaints.

And yes to the camera. It's handy for several reasons and if you're worried about privacy YOU chose where to set them up and how to protect them.
Way less invasive than Alexa e. g.
 

dk168

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I would try the home surveillance route first to capture the nuisance as supporting evidence when reporting them to the relevant authorities.

Good luck and I hope the situation will improve for you soon!

DK :(2
 

lyra

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Going to bylaw officers is the best idea. The camera and recordings will back you up, so that's also a great idea. We had to move because of a neighbour once. It was an awful thing truly being on the outs with a neighbour. It's why I make sure to never get friendly with neighbours. My husband does, but I don't.
 

Begonia

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If you have over the ear noise cancelling earphones, supplement them with some of these:


-33dB attenuation is a LOT!

I use them for band practice, and when pushed in and sealed fully, they cut out what subjectively feels like 90% of the noise :)

They are also so soft that I have thought I've lost one before and got a new one to put in, before realising I already had one in... :lol:


Personally speaking I don't like sleeping with restricted hearing, but then I've also not had to suffer selfish/belligerent morons, so I may well change that position at some point in the future :D

Do these allow alarms to be heard or are wired in for alarms? I can't sleep in...
 

dk168

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Do these allow alarms to be heard or are wired in for alarms? I can't sleep in...

Would you wear and sleep with a sports tracker that has a vibration mode for alarms?

My Fitbit Charge 2 has vibration alarm and it is sufficient to wake me up!

When I was camping in a tent in the past, I would wear Howard Leight brand of reusable ear plugs, so as to minimise the impact of dawn chorus and critters/ankle biters got up early in the morning ahead of the adults!

The orange ones joined by a blue cord with 30dB noise reduction are the ones I would recommend.

I bought mine from eBay in packs of 5, instead of a full box of 50 which is the manufacturer's smallest pack size.

I would use my phone as an alarm clock under my pillow, and it worked with my earplugs.

DK :))
 

Begonia

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Feb 2, 2011
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Would you wear and sleep with a sports tracker that has a vibration mode for alarms?

My Fitbit Charge 2 has vibration alarm and it is sufficient to wake me up!

When I was camping in a tent in the past, I would wear Howard Leight brand of reusable ear plugs, so as to minimise the impact of dawn chorus and critters/ankle biters got up early in the morning ahead of the adults!

The orange ones joined by a blue cord with 30dB noise reduction are the ones I would recommend.

I bought mine from eBay in packs of 5, instead of a full box of 50 which is the manufacturer's smallest pack size.

I would use my phone as an alarm clock under my pillow, and it worked with my earplugs.

DK :))

I'm currently using 30db noise reduction spongey ear plugs. Once I'm awake, I can hear the dog thru the plugs (he's only 25 feet away). Hard to get back asleep once you hear whining and barking.

I'm not sure what a sports tracker is? I'll check it out. I had noise cancelling head phones and the above happened. Once woken, could hear the dog (or the loud party) through them. Then they got recalled :(

If i manage to not be woken up, the plugs sometimes work. Harder now with windows open, we don't have AC and my upper br gets very stuffy. Too stuffy to sleep with the window closed. Hubbie is considering some kind of ventilation, altho we can't afford a heat exchanger right now. If we could, we would put a drywall insert into that window, that could be removed daily.
 

OoohShiny

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Do these allow alarms to be heard or are wired in for alarms? I can't sleep in...

I think dk has nailed it in her post :)

The 30dB ones attenuate a lot of noise but the brain can pick out sounds it needs to - like a mother can hear her screaming child in a crowd, if you are used to your alarm sound and it usually triggers your brain to wake up, you'll be fine!

The vibration thing is a good idea, though. Look up alarms for the deaf - they are based on massive 'shakers' that vibrate the pillow/bed :)


Or... Get a dog and train it to wake you up when the alarm sounds :D LOL
 

OoohShiny

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If i manage to not be woken up, the plugs sometimes work. Harder now with windows open, we don't have AC and my upper br gets very stuffy. Too stuffy to sleep with the window closed. Hubbie is considering some kind of ventilation, altho we can't afford a heat exchanger right now. If we could, we would put a drywall insert into that window, that could be removed daily.

re: the hot bedroom thing, you could try keeping the windows closed and then fitting shutters to keep the heat of the day out and maintain a cooler temperature into the night time :) (That's the theory, anyway, but it depends on if your house is well insulated or not...)

Could you perhaps purchase one of those portable AC units for the bedroom?
 

lyra

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We have central air that never cools our bedroom enough. This year we bought an a/c unit that vents through the window. I LOVE it! It's also kind of loud, so I don't hear anything from outside. It could be something to try. I sleep so well with it. Considering we live on traintracks, I don't hear a thing with that on and windows closed. It has wheels on it, easy to install the vent.
 

Jsand

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We’ve got this issue currently so I absolutely feel your pain. There’s nothing more annoying than someone’s dog left outside all night long constantly barking. Sometimes it makes my chest tighten with stress and makes me feel blind rage!
We’re moving to a neighborhood with a strict HOA in a few weeks for this sole reason. It impacts our quality of life too much to stand for it. I’ve called the non emergency police like and they don’t care. Everyone else around has hurricane impact windows so I guess they don’t hear the dog as badly as we do. I hope you find a solution.
 

Begonia

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We have central air that never cools our bedroom enough. This year we bought an a/c unit that vents through the window. I LOVE it! It's also kind of loud, so I don't hear anything from outside. It could be something to try. I sleep so well with it. Considering we live on traintracks, I don't hear a thing with that on and windows closed. It has wheels on it, easy to install the vent.

I have one, and sadly it cutting in and out wakes me up, so I only use it to cool the room down. Hubbie took it out tonight and it vents outside noise in (the dog) whereas the windows help buffer noise. Oh waIt, ours is window mount but i do wake up with the one we have...thank you tho.
 

Begonia

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re: the hot bedroom thing, you could try keeping the windows closed and then fitting shutters to keep the heat of the day out and maintain a cooler temperature into the night time :) (That's the theory, anyway, but it depends on if your house is well insulated or not...)

Could you perhaps purchase one of those portable AC units for the bedroom?

:)

We did, wimdow mount but sadly it cutting in and out wakes me up. Hubbie took it out tonight as it vents noise in.
 

Begonia

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We’ve got this issue currently so I absolutely feel your pain. There’s nothing more annoying than someone’s dog left outside all night long constantly barking. Sometimes it makes my chest tighten with stress and makes me feel blind rage!
We’re moving to a neighborhood with a strict HOA in a few weeks for this sole reason. It impacts our quality of life too much to stand for it. I’ve called the non emergency police like and they don’t care. Everyone else around has hurricane impact windows so I guess they don’t hear the dog as badly as we do. I hope you find a solution.

You. Get. My. Rage.
Thank you for that!!!
 

Begonia

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I think dk has nailed it in her post :)

The 30dB ones attenuate a lot of noise but the brain can pick out sounds it needs to - like a mother can hear her screaming child in a crowd, if you are used to your alarm sound and it usually triggers your brain to wake up, you'll be fine!

The vibration thing is a good idea, though. Look up alarms for the deaf - they are based on massive 'shakers' that vibrate the pillow/bed :)


Or... Get a dog and train it to wake you up when the alarm sounds :D LOL
:)
I do wear the 30 dB ones, but the noise is picking up just as I'm trying to drift off so I can't fall asleep as I can hear it. I run a fan and the bathroom fan but the dog is essentially under my window. Grrr. Hubbie took out window AC unit and I'm trying a closed window tonight with a hallway fan. The whole family is going to bed early so they don't wake me. The disruption of these neighbors is infuriating.
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

I am sorry for your sleeplessness and discomfort.

kind regards--Sharon
 

Begonia

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Would you wear and sleep with a sports tracker that has a vibration mode for alarms?

My Fitbit Charge 2 has vibration alarm and it is sufficient to wake me up!

When I was camping in a tent in the past, I would wear Howard Leight brand of reusable ear plugs, so as to minimise the impact of dawn chorus and critters/ankle biters got up early in the morning ahead of the adults!

The orange ones joined by a blue cord with 30dB noise reduction are the ones I would recommend.

I bought mine from eBay in packs of 5, instead of a full box of 50 which is the manufacturer's smallest pack size.

I would use my phone as an alarm clock under my pillow, and it worked with my earplugs.

DK :))

I'm tired. Yes, that is a possibility, a vibrating alarm :)
 

Jsand

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May 6, 2019
Messages
282
Sometimes a combination of high quality ear plugs and loud white noise in the room, that I can only slightly hear through the ear plugs, works to drown it out actually!

Recommend an app called Relax Melodies which has lots of different white noise sounds, and you can create layers of varying noise frequencies. I survived with this when we lived in an apartment and needed to filter out differing pitches of bassy music & TVs v whooping college kids v the usual barking dogs. I should just live on a remote farm lol
 

OoohShiny

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Ooh, I just thought - this might be weird, but...

If you do have a white noise machine or a fan or AC unit that makes background noise, try only putting one earplug in.

I don't know why, but for some reason my brain finds it easier to concentrate if it's not hearing the same thing in both ears - it's sort of like it tunes both out as background noise, rather than both ears hearing it and your brain trying to locate the noise in space and work out what it is, if that makes sense??


I'm not sure it will work with a barking dog right underneath the window :rolleyes: but I find it helps if I'm trying to focus on work in a busy space, but having two earphones in will make me concentrate on the music instead of the work :lol: lol
 

Daisys and Diamonds

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We have central air that never cools our bedroom enough. This year we bought an a/c unit that vents through the window. I LOVE it! It's also kind of loud, so I don't hear anything from outside. It could be something to try. I sleep so well with it. Considering we live on traintracks, I don't hear a thing with that on and windows closed. It has wheels on it, easy to install the vent.

i miss the sound of the trains rolling past - well the electric trains not the big diesels
@Begonia i can relate with noisy neighbours but at least i don't have to get up go go to work at the moment
we had a couple of really loud parties a few weeks back - two houses away but on both sides
i found the council nose control very helpful at 2am

could you try animal control/ dog ranger regarding the barking ?

and @kenny how can you have the worst neighbours when i have the worst neighbours? :mrgreen2: - but you have my sympathies

someone on another thread a few weeks back and im sorry i can't remember who, told me about double tracked sound blocking curtains and im definatly going to go down this route
 

missy

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@Begonia This situation sucks. I am so sorry :( They are very nasty people and their behavior unconscionable. What the heck is wrong with some people? Disgusting. Let me share a story that you might find helpful. I will preface it to say my DH is extremely sensitive to sound and noise and needs silence to fall asleep.

When I first met my DH he lived in Sheridan square in Greenwich Village across from the bars. An extremely noisy and lively area at all times of day but especially after 11PM into the early morning hours. Greg had a really good white noise generator that drowned out all the noise and he also slept with noise cancelling ear plugs. As I mentioned above he is super sensitive to noise and occasionally sleeps with ear plugs now due to me needing TV to fall asleep. But I digress. Maybe there is better noise cancelling ear plugs and a white noise machine that can allow you to fall asleep.

As for the dog that is animal abuse and is there any animal organization you can report them to? My heart goes out to that poor dog who is left outside 24/7. :(

My heart goes out to you dear @Begonia and if I lived near you I would march over to those neighbors and give them a piece of my mind. Yeah it probably wouldn't do any good but it would make me feel better. Seriously something wrong with those people.

And one more thought. What do they do for a living? When do they sleep? If you can figure out when they are sleeping perhaps fight fire with fire? I am not proud to suggest this but girl, you need your sleep and if nothing else works perhaps give them a taste of their own medicine. But of course only you know what you can get away with and I wouldn't want this to escalate to violence so if you think they are capable of anything like that ignore that advice. But I am furious for you and sleep is critical to well being so this has to be figured out so you can get to sleep.


Another thought. Do you have an attorney friend? Can you draft a letter and have the attorney help you and send it registered/certified (whatever the term is). Detailing the complaint and writing you will take action if they don't cease and desist with the noise in the middle of the night? There have to be laws against making so much noise at all hours of the night. And letting the dog bark all night. There has to be a legal avenue you can take. In a civilized society there has to be something you can do legally. Getting an attorney involved and sending it certified might be just what you need to make them stop. Unless they want to spend lots of money fighting this legally which I am guessing no one wants to do.

(((HUGS))) and lots of good vibes and good luck for peace and quiet being sent your way.
 
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