Earplugs????

grab01

if he's leaving his radio on when he's not home, it isn't a matter of his simply not liking quiet. He's being a little snot

Of course he's being a snot -- that's my point -- he's military, it's 'war' and thus far, he's winning (you're not sleeping, you're miserable, he's not!) -- so re-define the game and make it on your terms.  'Kill' him with kindness -- and watch the world try to figure you out.  It's more fun and usually a whale of a lot more successful.

I'm actually afraid of this guy....... whenever I walk out my door and down the steps, I look around to make sure he's not out there. I've tried to put him out of my mind and live as normally as possible, but this whole situation has made me very uncomfortable in my own home. He called the police on me the other night for vacuuming!!! There was no action taken by the police because the call was "unfounded" - of course. The next day I received an email from the manager, which is how I found out he had called the cops. I asked her if she was going to send him a notice threatening eviction for false police reports, like she did me and I reminded her that if she didn't, it is discrimination and harassment. I missed work Wednesday because I hit the wall and could not function after another sleepless night. I was dizzy, nauseated, so purely stressed and exhausted. I told her that if I lose my job related to this, management and the property owner could be held liable.

The manager sent me an email asking me for details and recent information relating to the noise so she can forward it to their attorney. At first I thought maybe she was going to actually help me, but the more I think about it, the less I believe this to be true. I actually think she is just gearing up for a fight. I think it's time to hire an attorney because I am not going to move. I love my apartment and have met some great neighbors here, most of whom have dogs - it's a very pet friendly property, plus I don't have the $$.

I have worn earplugs for the last three nights and it's horrible, they are the soft foam kind and they do block out the noise, BUT they hurt my ears and give me a headache. I just can't stand having anything in my ears. Tonight I am going to play my relaxation music cd's on random all night and see if that helps - it does seem to drown out the sound of his radio some, and I've been playing them all day, but it does get old. I'm doing everything I can think of, but it just pisses me off that he refuses to just turn the volume down a little, that's all he has to do!! He feels that there are no consequences for him so he goes on doing what he wants.

Callie, your idea is great, as usual, but I can tell you that it will not work with this guy. He is in his own little world - one that I do not want to be part of. I tried being nice to him in the beginning and told him how quiet I try to be and it backfired. I do not trust him at all.

I hate to say it, but at the last place I lived, I had a drug dealer for a neighbor - it was definitely more tolerable than this!!!! Sad to say, but true!!

Is there anyone that you could invite to spend the night at your house (without this guy knowing) who could then document the noise for you?

Joyce

My daughter is coming down from Tampa tomorrow and spending the night with me and my friend Jeff has heard it. Whether management will believe it or not is questionable, but I am going to get statement in writing from both of them and have as many other people over as I can. I bought some of those wax earplugs today and a couple more relaxation cd's. I am trying to do whatever I can to get some sleep. Right now I'm in my room and can hear the radio coming thru the floor. It's beyond annoying and knowing that it will go on thru the night is so frustrating. I hope the wax earplugs work.

I would call the police, but at this point I'm afraid that if they say they don't hear it, I'm screwed. Cops are funny..... I think most of them just don't want to come out on noise complaints...... period, so they just say they don't hear anything. The last cop that came out told me there is no longer a noise ordinance in our county, which I knew was false. I asked him why they even sent him out if that were true and commented on what a waste of taxpayers money it was if it were true. I was nice about it - I was even in tears at one point - he just didn't care. When I called the sheriff's office the next day, they emailed me a copy of the noise ordinance and told me that he was incorrect. I really wanted to contact his supervisor, but if I do that, then potentially, they'll never help me in the future - cops stick together. I think it's crap that this officer is giving out false information. I cannot believe that he doesn't know the law or is just flat out lying.

I just really want to get settled in my apartment and finally feel at home here, but I haven't hung pictures or unpacked all my boxes, just in case. It really sucks. I really hope we can come to some sort of amicable resolution soon. I really love my apartment and want to be here for a while. :(

Sunshinegirl

I have worn earplugs for the last three nights and it's horrible, they are the soft foam kind and they do block out the noise, BUT they hurt my ears

 

I have to wear them for swimming because I have an ear tube in my right ear.  The ones I got were the adult sized ones and they killed my ears.  I bought a pack of the child sized ones for our beach trip and they didn't hurt at all.  Maybe you could try that?!  I am sorry that this jerk is giving you a hard time.  When we lived at our previous place, our neighbor was a real b*&#%.  Rocky got out one day (Madison was pulling up on the door,learning how to walk, and accidently opened it) Well that woman came to my house, screaming at me because Rocky ran through her yard.  I told her in the nicest way I could, that I didn't mean for him to get out and she started cussing at me.  Well, that ruffled my feathers and I went off on her.  Long story short, I know how you feel and I hope you can get everything evened back out and get you some serious R&R!!

Thank you Bullymom!  I slept with the relaxation cd's last night, but they actually kept interrupting my sleep, so that's out. I'm gonna try the wax earplugs I purchased yesterday - those don't go into the ear canal and another idogger here recommended them. If that doesn't work and barring a miracle that the guy actually turns the stupid radio down, I will purchase the child size ones - I did see them at the store.

I was informed of a county run program called the Citizen Dispute Resolution Program and they faxed me the paperwork this morning. It's basically like mediation before going legal. I need to call them and get a few more details, but perhaps it's a possible solution and in the meantime, I should probably have a consultation with an attorney as well just to C.M.A. I haven't responded to management's email asking for recent details, in part, because I feel she's going to use it against me somehow - now I'm paranoid! Gotta get that legal advice.......

All in all I feel pretty good today, so there's hope!

Lynn, I'm so sorry you are dealing with this.  I hope the Citizen Dispute program can help because your landlord certainly doesn't give two shi-tzus.

Reminds me of that movie a few years ago, where Michael Keaton was the character who rented the bottom floor of the house from Matthew Modine and Melanie Griffith (who lived upstairs) and then he proceeded to destroy everything, make noise, etc. in an effort to drive them out (and they owned the home), and the police didn't/couldn't do anything about it.  It was a creepy movie.  Can't remember the name of it, though.

sharismom

Can't remember the name of it, though.

Pacific Heights.

Lynn, I think it's nuts that the management company isn't doing a thing to help you.  If I were you, I'd definitely talk to an attorney, and document everything you've done so far...the police reports, correspondence with management, etc.

Good luck, sending Peace and Quiet vibes your way....

sharismom

your landlord certainly doesn't give two shi-tzus

OMG ~ too funny!!!! 

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that this guy has done just that..... run off previous residents above him. He told me himself about beating on the ceiling with a broom and a bunch of other stuff with previous people. He is creepy and I'm not going down without a fight!!!!!

I may have to start drinking - A LOT, but at least I'll get some sleep!! ha ha :)

 

Sunshinegirl

I may have to start drinking - A LOT, but at least I'll get some sleep!! ha ha :)

Be careful. I tend to lose my inhibitions when I drink and I'd probably march right up to the guy and give him a piece of my mind after a couple glasses of wine. On the other hand, maybe that's not a bad idea but don't forget to put some clothes on

I don't think there's much worse than having neighbors from hell. I lived in a downstairs apt. for awhile and there was a young couple upstairs that kept me awake every night. I couldn't figure out what the recurring noise was but it started every night about 10 and lasted for about an hour. I tried listening to soothing music with my headphones on but that didn't work. I laid in bed and cried a few nights. I finally reported them to mgt and heard back that they had a nordic track. In an upstairs apt???? Geesh!! Anyway, they were told to quit using it or move and they chose to move - yay!!

 I hope you can get this resolved soon. Lack of sleep can cause lots of problems both physically and emotionally.

cakana

maybe that's not a bad idea but don't forget to put some clothes on

Ha Ha.... or maybe I *won't* put clothes on and scare him so bad he'll move out!!!!

I've come to realize that this is this guy's bedtime routine - as crazy as it sounds..... he turns the radio up loud (louder than normal), puts the a/c fan on to run constantly, puts on his earplugs and/or earphones and crashes out. If I hadn't heard it from the horses mouth I would never believe it. It blows my mind. I also realize that it may not come to an end. I work six days a week, he's retired..... so he hears nothing from my apartment all day long and even when I'm home the dogs and I are so quiet. Then, I go to relax and unwind at night and I can't....... I'm so frustrated and sad right now. I just want to beat on the floor with a f'in hammer!!!!! Even the dogs are disturbed by his noise......

I've probably lost 10 lbs since I moved in, my stomach is absolutely torn up and it is affecting my work. Most of my friends tell me to "just move," which sounds great and is easy to advise, but I can't right now, I am stuck!!! Lord help me........

Lynn, I don't have a solution to your problem neighbor.  Well, I do, but it's best that I keep those ideas to myself.  :)

I just wanted to say that I hope that you get some kind of resolution to this soon. 

I'm quite late seeing this, and honestly I don't have anything brilliant to add --- but I wanted to offer my sympathy.  I hate when my sleep is disturbed, so I totally understand your situation.  I spent most of my college years completely sleep deprived.  Not so much from studying, but from being kept up much of the night by obnoxiously loud stereos.  I often wonder if it's different now that kids have iPods and earbuds (I was a student long before those existed!).  I lived in apartments until I was 30 years old, and we had a couple bad neighbors that made life less-than-peaceful.

While it's a little better in a house, we live in a neighborhood where the homes are so close together that noise can still be a factor.  We have a neighbor with one of those souped-up trucks (way louder than a normal vehicle used for basic transportation needs to be).  The guy has some weird schedule because sometimes he leaves at midnight, other times at 7AM.  When he revs it up (and he always lets it run for a few minutes, even in the summer --- who does that??), I instantly wake up, even with the windows closed.  A small fan helps drown it out, or if I still hear it, the fan helps me go back to sleep.  Music doesn't help me because I start focusing on the music itself.  I've always wondered if one of those "white noise" machines would help.  Not sure how much those cost -- might be an idea for you.

As for earplugs, I tried those foam ones when we had a rat living above our bedroom for a few weeks.  I'd hear his little feet running around at night -- I swear he did laps, and only at night!  I found them to be uncomfortable, and almost TOO soundproof.  It bothered me that I couldn't hear anything in case of emergency.

It's crazy that your manager won't intervene.  I hope you have better response from the other avenues you mentioned.  You can't go on without sleep, but you don't want to give in to his evil plan to drive out another neighbor, either.  I wish you the very best of luck!!

Forgive me if I missed it, but have you tried earphones?  They'd sit externally, and there are some very thick ones that would probably help.  I'm sorry that you're going through that with your neighbor.  Hope he sees (hears?) the light and mends his ways.

tacran

I've always wondered if one of those "white noise" machines would help.  Not sure how much those cost -- might be an idea for you.

I used to have a small air purifier that sat low to the ground and worked pretty good for "white noise." (We had lots of traffic noise by my house, lots of good ol boy trucks and souped up motorcycles). But after about 8 years of constant running, it finally pooped out. With this recent situation, I went to Lowe's and they had a real nice, larger size floor model on clearance, so I purchased it. I was so excited at the thought or drowning out everything, but for some reason this machine actually seems to suck the noise upward and amplifies it!! It's a taller version, whereas my other one was square and sat low to the floor. So I'm not using it at all. I should return it and try another model, maybe it's just the design. I run my a/c on 69 - 70 degrees all night long to help drown out the noise, but man, I'm scared to see my power bill!!!!!!

Besides hurting my ears and causing a headache, I also had the same issue with the foam earplugs of not being able to hear anything. Abbie is notorious for barfing in the middle of the night (not often) and when it happens, I can hear her and get her off my bed and onto the tile floor before there's a big mess to deal with. Plus, as you say, any other emergencies - I would be S.O.L. *and* I couldn't hear my own alarm clock - that's a problem!!

Hey Callie, if I make brownies for this guy, can I add any *SPECIAL* ingredients???? lol