Identify source of noise pollution

west star · 04-07-2017 11:53pm #1

I am having a problem with noise coming into house by day and by night. I don't know where its coming from. There seems to be lack of recognition of the health effects from this. It would be my dearest wish to subject those government officials responsible to ONE week of no sleep, so they would have a taste of my life in this house.

Apparently if l was living in Limerick, someone from the council would come to my house to assist me. I would have no problem taking the culprit to court except l do not know where this noise is coming from.

Before anyone asks, l cannot knock on my neighbours door asking if its them. I'm attached to them and am absolutely plagued by noise travelling between party wall. I've asked several engineers to call but all have refused....i

If houses were properly built, and actually FIT FOR PURPOSE then l should not have outside noise coming in especially at night. I am now sick as a result of all this.

Boards.ie: Mark · 18-07-2017 3:04pm

Moving at request of OP as it's not specific to Regional forum

Paulw · 18-07-2017 3:09pm

Can you describe the noise? Is it machine noise? Is it music? Is it people talking?

Not sure we can give you a direct and simple answer, but people here may be able to guide you.

Maybe not what you want to hear, but have you tried using earplugs?

....... · 18-07-2017 3:12pm

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west star · 18-07-2017 3:17pm

Paulw wrote: »

Can you describe the noise? Is it machine noise? Is it music? Is it people talking?

Not sure we can give you a direct and simple answer, but people here may be able to guide you.

Maybe not what you want to hear, but have you tried using earplugs?

Its machine type noise. Always use ear plugs, but they fall out sometimes

Michael D Not Higgins · 18-07-2017 3:18pm

west star wrote: »

Its machine type noise. Always use ear plugs, but they fall out sometimes

Is it constant or intermittent? Are you in an apartment? Could it be the water pump?

If the origin is the neighbouring property, you're going to have to engage with them to do something about it.

west star · 18-07-2017 3:21pm

....... wrote: »

Why cant you ask the neighbours if its them?

What kind of noise is it?

We don't speak, but it was so bad recently that l wrote them a note. They replied saying they put on their dishwasher at night. However a dishwasher does not run all night.

It's machine type noise

....... · 18-07-2017 3:23pm

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sKeith · 18-07-2017 3:39pm

machine type noise?

thump
clank
whirr
drone
humm
buzz
swish
chime
chirp
rattle

west star · 18-07-2017 3:51pm

....... wrote: »

Is it only at night or is it in the day too?

Why not ask them to come in when its happening and see if they can identify it?

We do not speak, so they are not going to come and listen to it. For all l know they have something turned on to annoy me. Until l know where its coming from it can't be sorted.

Its not as bad during the day but its always there at 11 pm when they go to bed. By 3 am its even louder.

I live in a semidetached house. The house I'm attached to is rented. I don't have the owners address only phone number. He is very difficult to deal with, he knows there's problems with these houses which were built 16 years ago. He
has called the Guards with the previous family and they landed on my door threatening me.....l asked them for his address but they refused to give it to me.

I would need to have this noise measured throughout the night, but who is going to do that??

....... · 18-07-2017 3:55pm

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super_furry · 18-07-2017 3:56pm

There are plenty of phone apps you could get to measure the noise yourself.

west star · 18-07-2017 3:56pm

sKeith wrote: »

machine type noise?

thump
clank
whirr
drone
humm
buzz
swish
chime
chirp
rattle

Drone and humm l would say

davo2001 · 18-07-2017 3:57pm

Where abouts in the country are you exactly?

Is it a council or private dwelling?

west star · 18-07-2017 3:59pm

davo2001 wrote: »

Where abouts in the country are you exactly?

Is it a council or private dwelling?

Clare, private house

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Gravelly · 18-07-2017 4:00pm

west star wrote: »

Drone and humm l would say

Check that it's not your fridge - a fridge with a leaking door seal will run nearly constantly, and it can be hard to pinpoint where the noise comes from. Could be that the neighbours have a faulty fridge they aren't aware of too.

sKeith · 18-07-2017 4:00pm

west star wrote: »

Drone and humm l would say

Possibly a ceiling fan, although not popular in Ireland. noisy fish tank pump. geothermal pump? weird to have in a semi D.

davo2001 · 18-07-2017 4:01pm

west star wrote: »

Clare, private house

Any heavy industry nearby? ie: the Irish Cement factory often keeps me awake due to its low level humming and it's located around 1.5 miles away.

DaniilKharms · 18-07-2017 4:04pm

Good luck.

Had something similar.

Gardai sent me to the council, and the council just told me tough luck.

Lasted for over a year, and then just stopped. Lost untold nights sleep to it... still have no idea what it was.

west star · 18-07-2017 4:04pm

....... wrote: »

Theres an Android App called Sound Meter and an Apple one called Decibel 10.

I havent used either but they would surely be a good starting point?

I have the android sound Meter app already, but its unable to pick it up

DaniilKharms · 18-07-2017 4:08pm

west star wrote: »

I have the android sound Meter app already, but its unable to pick it up

I work with sound for a living and have proper mics and proper headphones... sound below a certain frequency is almost impossible to track down.

The best you can do is write a nice letter asking if someone around has been running machinery, etc., and then stick it through the post slot of every local place you can find.

That's what the council told me and as you'd expect it did absolutely nothing to solve my problem.

I have empathy and pity for you. Very best of luck.

sKeith · 18-07-2017 4:09pm

davo2001 wrote: »

Any heavy industry nearby? ie: the Irish Cement factory often keeps me awake due to its low level humming and it's located around 1.5 miles away.

Its also been on prime time about people complaining about the noise coming from wind farms. Is there any wind farms nearby.

west star · 18-07-2017 4:09pm

davo2001 wrote: »

Any heavy industry nearby? ie: the Irish Cement factory often keeps me awake due to its low level humming and it's located around 1.5 miles away.

A hotel is near enough.

Do you think its OK to be kept awake by a factory Thats so far away from you???

Mrs OBumble · 18-07-2017 4:11pm

People who live in cities and other noisy environments learn to sleep thru the noise.
You can too. Especially if its so low level that the app cannot pick it up.

Consult your GP and ask them to refer you to someone who can help.

Gravelly · 18-07-2017 4:16pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

People who live in cities and other noisy environments learn to sleep thru the noise.
You can too. Especially if its so low level that the app cannot pick it up.

Consult your GP and ask them to refer you to someone who can help.

You can learn to sleep through noise, but what I'm getting from the OP is that this is possibly a low level vibration - which can be very difficult or impossible to ignore or get used to. If this is the case, it is almost certainly caused by a faulty appliance or piece of machinery.

DaniilKharms · 18-07-2017 4:18pm

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

People who live in cities and other noisy environments learn to sleep thru the noise.
You can too. Especially if its so low level that the app cannot pick it up.

Consult your GP and ask them to refer you to someone who can help.

It TRULY depends on the person and the noise.

I used to live beside a bus stop and learned to sleep through that, but the noise that kept me up was at about 50hz or so and vibrated my head. I was literally drinking to help myself fall asleep after a few months.

Every situation is different.

west star · 18-07-2017 4:22pm

sKeith wrote: »

Its also been on prime time about people complaining about the noise coming from wind farms. Is there any wind farms nearby.

No, l live in a town. But glad you mentioned wind farms because I'd like to warn any one living in a nice, quiet, peaceful rural area that if they are anywhere near you, you can say goodbye to your health. Here in Ireland, we are ignorant of the effects of noise pollution. They should be stopped. The correct thing would be to build them on the sea.

18-07-2017 4:32pm

Try turning off every electronic device in the building. Then turn them back one by one. It may help. Even central heating pumps.

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o1s1n · 18-07-2017 4:46pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Try turning off every electronic device in the building. Then turn them back one by one. It may help. Even central heating pumps.

That's what I'd start with alright. Switch off the mains electricity in your own house and see if you still hear it. Best to eliminate your own noise production before assuming it's coming from somewhere else.

nuckeythompson · 18-07-2017 4:47pm

Any distinct odours?

sKeith · 18-07-2017 4:47pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Try turning off every electronic device in the building. Then turn them back one by one. It may help. Even central heating pumps.

Good idea. Maybe quicker to do this at the main fusebox. shut every thing off and see if noise has stopped. This will confirm if its neighbour noise or home made noise. if its home made, bring them back one fuse at a time. until you ID the noisy circuit.

DaniilKharms · 18-07-2017 4:47pm

o1s1n wrote: »

That's what I'd start with alright. Switch off the mains electricity in your own house and see if you still hear it. Best to eliminate your own noise production before assuming it's coming from somewhere else.

And sure if that doesn't work there's always this

geecee · 18-07-2017 7:22pm

Years ago, I spent a fortune on doctors trying to get my "tinnitus" cured - every night I was unable to sleep because of this barely audible but annoying whine

Turned out that the sound I was hearing was coming from my laptop power supply!

More recently a noise that I was hearing in my apartment was tracked down as a loose ELCB for the storage heating in my fusebox. Like you it got louder at night once the night saver meter kicked in

So as others have suggested, turn off the electricity and see if the sound goes away... you can then eliminate devices one by one

the_syco · 21-07-2017 4:42am

west star wrote: »

Drone and humm l would say

Maybe a washer-dryer combo, with the significant whine at the end in the final dry cycle?

Would be useful to do a wash of clothes, and great for pissing off the neighbors if you didn't like them.

Noo · 21-07-2017 4:53am

You say the noise is travelling through the party wall? Put your ear up against the wall and see if you can hear it coming through the structure itself. If you can it is most likely structural borne noise which is caused by a piece of machinery not being properly isolated from the structure, they dont necessarily have to be particularly noisy, but the vibration of them can cause noise issues in other areas of a building.

dubrov · 21-07-2017 5:20am

It probably is the dishwasher that your neighbours have started. Some dishwashers can take 4 hours plus when set to use eco mode

nuckeythompson · 21-07-2017 5:30am

Grow house next door?

west star · 25-07-2017 4:54am

Noo wrote: »

You say the noise is travelling through the party wall? Put your ear up against the wall and see if you can hear it coming through the structure itself. If you can it is most likely structural borne noise which is caused by a piece of machinery not being properly isolated from the structure, they dont necessarily have to be particularly noisy, but the vibration of them can cause noise issues in other areas of a building.

I see. So how is that solved. What exactly does ' not being properly isolated from the structure' mean

west star · 25-07-2017 4:58am

west star wrote: »

I see. So how is that solved. What exactly does ' not being properly isolated from the structure' mean

I was woken at 2.30 am and again now.

Crazyivan 1979 · 25-07-2017 10:47am

Its incredibly difficult to pin point noise sources if you dont have cooperation from other parties, who you suspect are at fault for causing it.

Mobile app phone apps are not very accurate either and will only give you real time measurements, they wont frequency weight values and wont give you 1/3 octave bands which would be more useful at trying to determine sources.

ThisRegard · 25-07-2017 10:50am

Fish tank pump was mentioned earlier in the thread. We have one a couple of years and you don't notice it during the day at all.

Come night time there's been times I've been sitting downstairs and wondering what the hell that noise is, you just seem to focus in on it. The tank was upstairs in my daughters room above the living room.

When there's no other ambient noise you could be noticing a neighbours fridge, pump etc that's close to, or against, the party wall.

pwurple · 25-07-2017 10:58am

Sounds like your relationship with the neighbours is in tatters anyway.

If it is an appliance in their house (dishwasher, washing machine , water pump), they are under no obligation to change it for you anyway.

Can you move house?
Are you renting, or did you buy?

Can you find a detatched house in your price range?

west star · 25-07-2017 9:21pm

pwurple wrote: »

Sounds like your relationship with the neighbours is in tatters anyway.

If it is an appliance in their house (dishwasher, washing machine , water pump), they are under no obligation to change it for you anyway.

Can you move house?
Are you renting, or did you buy?

Can you find a detatched house in your price range?

The relationship with every neighbour disintegrates, not because they are bad people but because far too much sharp noise is travelling between the party wall.

I bought house, if l was renting ld be gone long ago, a detached house would be more expensive.

My understanding of the law is that no undue noise, in this case, noise coming from any appliance or system next door or vice versa is allowed between 11 pm and 7 am.

west star · 26-07-2017 12:00am

west star wrote: »

pwurple wrote: »

Sounds like your relationship with the neighbours is in tatters anyway.

If it is an appliance in their house (dishwasher, washing machine , water pump), they are under no obligation to change it for you anyway.

Can you move house?
Are you renting, or did you buy?

Can you find a detatched house in your price range?

The relationship with every neighbour disintegrates, not because they are bad people but because far too much sharp noise is travelling between the party wall.

I bought house, if l was renting ld be gone long ago, a detached house would be more expensive.

My understanding of the law is that no undue noise, in this case, noise coming from any appliance or system next door or vice versa is allowed between 11 pm and 7 am.

I am just after calling the out- of-hours phone number of the council. I told them that l had everything turned off in my house and the noise is unbearable. Ear plugs don't mask it, and if they dont work nothing will. I told them l do not know where the noise is coming from. I asked them to send someone out to my house.

Does anyone know who can come to my house after 11pm , when traffic has quietened, to try to identify this noise.

kaymin · 26-07-2017 12:08am

If I was you I'd get a friend to call in and see what s/he thinks. You may be so caught up in this issue that you may not be entirely reasonable about how bad or not the noise is.

q85dw7osi4lebg · 26-07-2017 11:55am

Are you near the coast? Ships / Trawlers humming 24/7 where I live, especially when there is no wind.

q85dw7osi4lebg · 26-07-2017 11:56am

Also garden water fountains can cause a hum similar to those of fridges.

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Identify source of noise pollution

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