Noise at night keeping me awake

AshtownGuy

I've got exactly this problem. I have been prevented from dropping off to sleep for several nights now because of this low level hum which sounds like a distant engine constantly running. I sometimes hear it during the day but it only bothers me at night.

I do have sensitive hearing though and my flatmate doesn't hear it at all. It seems to come from the direction of my windows which do in fact face the M50 about a mile away but it has only started bothering me in the last 2 weeks, and I have lived in D15 now almost 5 years.

I really need to sort it out as it is driving me nuts. It vibrates through ear-plugs too.

Can anyone help?

tony81

Op, is there a device you can get to measure the sound? To objectively see if it's really as bad as you think.

People under 30 can hear certain high-pitch noises (e.g. those things to keep mice and insects away) With few exceptions people over 30 will not hear them. So if you're that age, it may get better!
Second, are you getting on a bit? As people get older, they find it harder to block out background noises. My dad got really bad in his mid-40s to the point he was unbearable. He heard every footstep/ light switch/ chewing/ etc. Luckily once he got into his 50s his hearing got a lot worse so he's unlikely to notice these things now!

Taltos

Hi AshtownGuy - per our charter digging up old threads is a no-no and they are normally closed. In this instance I have created a new thread for you.

Please take some time now to read our charter before posting again to PI.

Thanks
Taltos

AlbionCat

I too live by a busyish road (but not motorway) and had trouble getting to sleep. I have mostly solved it by listening to the podcasts and setting the sleep function on the docking station to turn off after 90 mins. When I turn the light out I make a deliberate attempt to listen to the podcast, rather than my surroundings and I usually am asleep within minutes. I tend not to listen to music (unless classical) as the break between tracks sometimes wakes me up. the podcasts are mostly talkies and I set the volume to be not too loud but just loud enough to make me concentrate on listening to the words spoken.

sReq | uTeK

I've had this, on and off since I was 16, it sounds like Tinnitus, it doesn't even bother me anymore I'm that used to it.

What I found helped me wonders at night time sleeping was to sleep with some background noise that stifles it out, say a running PC or a FAN.

Failing that I used to sleep with my hand under my ear which alleviated some of the annoyance.

I bet you hear it just at night perhaps when you're sitting down to watch tv at about 9pm and worsens when you're just about to go to sleep, then you hear it 1st thing in the morning but subsides the minute you leave the house?

Vibrating through ear plugs again it sounds like tinnitus, go get a check up just to be sure.
Best of luck, it's annoying but no more than that you'll eventually get used to it

MariMel

I cant abide fluorescent light bulbs as they make a buzz which in my family, only I can seem to hear. I also have nothing plugged in in my bedroom and unplug lights etc if i am staying anywhere else. For me, chargers for phones or laptops are the worst. Im grand during the day as there are other sounds around (HATE fluorescent bulbs day or night though).

Is there anything plugged in in your bedroom or in the hallway or room adjacent to yours?

Check out this, sounds a lot like what you are describing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hum

seven_eleven

Fight noise with noise. I have white noise in my room at all times when I sleep that in turn blocks out any outside noise very well. Mine just happens to be my computer fans running. It really does a great job and doesnt bother me at all, infact I dont think I could sleep without it anymore.

For months I couldn't sleep soundly because of a constant humming noise...after pulling the room apart I finally figured out it was phone chargers, both mine and the OH's. If it's plugged in but not connected to the phone it hums, and if the phone fully charges while plugged in, it starts to hum again.

Go through everything in your room to see if it's anything there. If not, maybe take some suggestions from posters above.

ongarboy

OP - what you describe sounds very like tinnitus which I suffer from. It can be a constant low but distinctive whoosing or humming noise. What I'd be interested to know is whether you hear this noise elsewhere or is it just in your apartment? This would rule out the M50 noise or other local factors being a possible factor if you also hear it elsewhere.

I only noticed tinnitus after I got my ears syringed for wax which I wondered was the cause. It drove me mental for a few weeks but then I got used to it so that I only notice it now if I pay attention to it (usually at night in bed when it's quiet). Check out the wikipedia definition of tinnitus to see if it's symptoms relate to what you are experiencing.

scarymoon1

I use Quies wax ear plugs - cant sleep without them - try them