Question about loud neighbour

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 12:13am #1

Hi

This may seem strange, and I don;t know if this is the correct area to post, but I am curious to know what people think of a loud neighbour. The man in question is 70ish, and has a habit of listening to his television very very loud late into the night, sometimes until 2-3 am. This is during the week. Me and my girlfriend can hear his television clearly bleeding into our bedroom, and I personally find it very distressing. I couldn't care less what he does, except when it interferes with our sleep - which it does.

I have spoken to him about it several times but, as he seems slightly 'batty', he chats for ages about the country being a mess. I guess I have mentioned it to him 5-6 times at the very minimum over 7-8 months. And he remembers things, it's not that he doesn't know i've asked him - he does. He says as much when I have to speak to him, he already knows what it is about. :rolleyes:

Sometimes the problem is intermitent, othertimes it happens each night for a week, before a rare night or two of peace. For a while there was complete silence, and it turns out he had gotten headphones. A nice gesture, In fairness to him, but now he seems to have fallen out of favour with them and has returned to listening to his tele until 1am at the earliest. Blaring it, let me add.

What do you think my rights are here? I find it very challenging always being patient with him on this - but I have been clear that after 11:30 - 12:00am we need silence. As he is slightly deaf he can;t really turn teh tv down. Despite his age and all that, I still don't think i am being unfair, seeing as it's during the week I am confident it constitutes noise pollution to some degree.

Does anyone else agree, or have any previous experience that could help guide me? Short of strangling him what options do I have?!

Idbatterim · 22-05-2012 12:17am

Op do you own the apartment? is he above or below you or beside you?

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 12:20am

Idbatterim wrote: »

Op do you own the apartment? is he above or below you or beside you?

No I rent if that matters. We are all small old houses in a row. So I have two adjoining neighbours beside me. Never a peep from the other side thank God.

Idbatterim · 22-05-2012 12:31am

is there another bedroom in the house that you could move to? or could you reposition the bed in the room, so that the noise wouldnt be as bad?

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 12:35am

Idbatterim wrote: »

is there another bedroom in the house that you could move to? or could you reposition the bed in the room, so that the noise wouldnt be as bad?

Believe me, every possible avenue has been tried. Bed has already been repositioned. This is going on over half a year. I am really just seeing what other people think of the situation, and if it persists much longer - which I am sure it will - I will have to chat to the police to find out what I am entitled to. Don't want to go down that road but have talked to him numerous times, what else can I do besides being kept awake all the time?

(P.s. your user name made me laugh out loud!)

yellowtrout · 22-05-2012 12:47am

I know how you feel, OP.

A lad recently moved next door and he has mad parties every single week.
At first it didn't bother me because he's entitled to have the odd party but the music was getting louder and louder and it was seriously disrupting me and my partner's quality of sleep.
Then he started having parties midweek and I was getting seriously annoyed-people have to work and need their sleep.
My neighbour called the Gardai because he felt the same and could also hear the music and the Gardai had a quiet word with the lad-it's been quiet ever since. The Gardai didn't tell the lad who had called them, so maybe do that-the Gardai won't disclose who called them.

I mean, what else can you do?
This man can't carry on acting like he's the only one entitled to do as he pleases in his own home with no consideration for anyone else.

Fenian Army · 22-05-2012 12:51am

Nothing you can really do tbh.. not as if it is parties its his TV.

You could get the cops involved but all they can do is have a word - if even that.

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 12:55am

yellowtrout wrote: »

I know how you feel, OP.

A lad recently moved next door and he has mad parties every single week.
At first it didn't bother me because he's entitled to have the odd party but the music was getting louder and louder and it was seriously disrupting me and my partner's quality of sleep.
Then he started having parties midweek and I was getting seriously annoyed-people have to work and need their sleep.
My neighbour called the Gardai because he felt the same and could also hear the music and the Gardai had a quiet word with the lad-it's been quiet ever since. The Gardai didn't tell the lad who had called them, so maybe do that-the Gardai won't disclose who called them.

I mean, what else can you do?
This man can't carry on acting like he's the only one entitled to do as he pleases in his own home with no consideration for anyone else.

Sorry for you own troubles, these things happen. Yea, I do know what you mean, though I reckon he'll def. know it was me! Not that It would bother me. I appreciate the clarity. Perhaps because he is slightly older I have been more tolerant, but when he got the headphones he demonstrated that (1) he understood the noise was loud and (2) he was willing to make the effort. Don't know why this has changed; all I want him to do is use the headphones after midnight!

Thanks for the reply. Glad your own monkey is off your back.

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 12:58am

Fenian Army wrote: »

Nothing you can really do tbh.. not as if it is parties its his TV.

You could get the cops involved but all they can do is have a word - if even that.

I can understand this pov, yet when you have to live with it each and every night that line of thinking goes away farly fast. A party is widely considered to be noise pollution and unfair, so why a blaring television isn't confuses me to be honest!

Prob should add that I know it sounds insignificant, but believe me it really is OTT and has been for months now. I have cronic tinnitus and can;t war earplugs as the ringing is worse than the TV! just so you know why I can't go down that road!

finality · 22-05-2012 1:16am

Maybe there's a reason he stopped using the headphones- they could've been uncomfortable/not loud enough? I doubt he stopped using them just to be annoying, then again who knows. Might be worth asking him about them. Or he could be falling asleep with the tv on, unintentionally?

cookie1977 · 22-05-2012 6:55am

Have a read through this, it might be of help.
http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Noise/

BizzyC · 22-05-2012 7:52am

Buy him a really good set of earphones.

It could be that the ones he had were uncomfortable or had poor sound.
You get your peace, he gets a nice gift making you look good....

silja · 22-05-2012 10:01am

Since you seem on decent terms, could you suggest to him to look into a hearing aid? There are some with a special "TV" setting.

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 2:20pm

BizzyC wrote: »

Buy him a really good set of earphones.

It could be that the ones he had were uncomfortable or had poor sound.
You get your peace, he gets a nice gift making you look good....

I had thought about this, getting him some, before I found out he had his own ones, but once I thought about it I realised it's really his responsibility to keep the noise down, I'm not in a position to buy expensive headphones and who knows if he will even wear them. I will probably move out in September. Maybe they broke on him, even so he should be cognizant of the noise he makes, I feel, and I have made it clear on numerous occasions that the noise is too loud. He blames his hearing. Oh dear.

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 2:22pm

silja wrote: »

Since you seem on decent terms, could you suggest to him to look into a hearing aid? There are some with a special "TV" setting.

I have though about this too, but, I can't really suggest he get a hearing aid - he knows himself he is a bit deaf. That may be directly getting a bit personal.

I actually have a book belonging to him which I'm nearly done with. WAs thinking of putting it through the letterbox with a polite letter, thanking him for the book and 'reminding' him that the noise is still too loud too late during the week and I really have to ask that you use headphones after 12 (he isn't going to stop using his tele and, yes, we are on fairly good terms).

wyndham · 22-05-2012 4:13pm

Get a universal remote control and turn it down yourself through the window/wall?
Find out what model tv he as when you are dropping that book back.

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 4:16pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

Have a read through this, it might be of help.
http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Noise/

Thank you

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 4:23pm

wyndham wrote: »

Get a universal remote control and turn it down yourself through the window/wall?
Find out what model tv he as when you are dropping that book back.

Ah I love it! Well, it would make for a good story but I think I'll resolve it in a less hilarious fashion. He doesn't fall asleep at the tele, so he would just turn it straight back up anyway. Every other person in their 60's or 70's that I know of is in bed by 11pm, for some reason he is an elderly man who lives like a twenty something :rolleyes:. He lives alone, i neglected to mention, which is probably easy to infer. I do feel for the guy sometimes, but my head is wrecked with it. Will have to chat to the guards me thinks just to see if they have any advice.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater · 22-05-2012 4:27pm

I know its the principle of the situation insofar as its him who is making all the noise, but have you considered earplugs? Might be worth getting to bridge the gap until ye can sort out a better arrangement between ye.

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 4:30pm

deccurley wrote: »

I know its the principle of the situation insofar as its him who is making all the noise, but have you considered earplugs? Might be worth getting to bridge the gap until ye can sort out a better arrangement between ye.

Hey, fair suggestion, and I used to use them always and never had issues with noise even living in Galway and in college madness; sadly I got tinnitus in 2010 and the one thing that has changed is the impossibility of using earplugs anymore for sleep - the noise amplifies at least 300% and the ringing is bad enough to begin with. No, sadly that is one thing I am unable to resort to.

Cuddlesworth · 22-05-2012 6:06pm

You rent. Move. Its the beauty of renting.

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 6:42pm

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

You rent. Move. Its the beauty of renting.

Hey! I was wondering how long till the good old Irish spirit would leave a comment. Had never considered moving - what a mug I am. Thing about leases is that they last until they end, and I'd like my deposit

StillWaters · 22-05-2012 7:12pm

jackthelad321 wrote: »

I am really just seeing what other people think of the situation, and if it persists much longer - which I am sure it will - I will have to chat to the police to find out what I am entitled to.

Forget this. The police, or indeed Environmental Health are not interested in an old man listening to telly too loud in his own house. The only option open to you is the friendly one.

jackthelad321 · 22-05-2012 7:38pm

StillWaters wrote: »

Forget this. The police, or indeed Environmental Health are not interested in an old man listening to telly too loud in his own house. The only option open to you is the friendly one.

Well, I can see your point. However, he doesn't own the house, and I feel that if I continue to go about the polite approach, which has had limited success, the problem won't go away and I'm locked into living there for a while yet. I did expect some people to say there is nothing you can do, but I fail to see any reasoning as to why I'm not legally entitled to some kind of peace! You are right, though, that a peaceful approach is by far the best. I was hoping that there was some proper legislation that covers noise,and I think there may be as he doesn't own the house himself. Just as renters have obligations to keep the noise down, I believe he does as well.

Don't want it to go to that. Maybe i'll just strangle him.