noise blocking reccomendations, please|

Thanks so much for your responses, everybody. I am beginning to hear the noise again tonight but won't have earplugs until tomorrow, so hoping for the best! I have seriously considered offering to pay for the flat to be carpeted (it would be cheaper than moving home!)

I have used Boots wax earplugs for years when I needed to shut out noise and get a good night’s sleep. I find them very effective.

Warmglovesandsocks

I wonder if Shysal and Sunnysusie would be kind enough to let me know the makes and where to buy their white noise appliances. I’m desperately looking for white noise headphones, not sound blocking headphones. A well known online retailer doesn’t do white noise headphones and my current white noise headphones are SO OLD they’re taped up with sellotape. I have thin walls and ceiling and young boys above me coming and going all the time during the night with all their friends staying overnight all the time. Feel free to send me a personal reply if you want to. Any help is greatly appreciated.

This is the item that I use, but it is not headphones. I have it beside my bed.
White noise machine

Boots mouldable wax earplugs are very safe and good use enough to fill cavity. Our son uses sound blocking headphones for his work if I find out what make they are I will post info.

🤨 hmm Boing I live above a women who is quite deaf and has two “little yappers” she also conducts (shouts) all of her business from the open lounge windows and sings (catawauls) to loud Irish folk records. This flares up at least once a day for a couple of hours.

We have a really loud neighbour, (that's the polite description), who spouts the most ridiculous drivel every time she opens her gob, she shouts to everyone who passes by and has woken us up many mornings. Solution - we have a fan beside the bed, turn that on & hey presto 👍 we don't hear the bin lorry, the kids going to school or her anymore. We have one downstairs too, we have to turn the tv up when it's on but we don't hear her much at all now.

I wonder if Shysal and Sunnysusie would be kind enough to let me know the makes and where to buy their white noise appliances. I’m desperately looking for white noise headphones, not sound blocking headphones. A well known online retailer doesn’t do white noise headphones and my current white noise headphones are SO OLD they’re taped up with sellotape. I have thin walls and ceiling and young boys above me coming and going all the time during the night with all their friends staying overnight all the time. Feel free to send me a personal reply if you want to. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I think it's awful that anyone should have to wear earplugs to cut out noise from unreasonable upstairs neighbours.
I hope you have a decent landlord who will put down a carpet upstairs. In the meantime, I like Pascal's suggestion about asking them to come into your flat and hear someone clomping about upstairs.
Good luck!

I use the Boots soft disposable earplugs and a white noise machine. The noise machine goes on when the light goes off and my brain seems to be trained to recognise that means sleep time. If I get woken up by noise I then put the earplugs in as well. Conveniently the cat is also trained to the white noise machine and when it goes on she stops chasing flies and daddy long legs and settles down to sleep next to me!

Having a flat which was not purpose built (conversion of Edwardian house) we must have carpeted floors.
For myself I don't find the Boots wax ear plugs any good. I use the French Quies (unsure of spelling). These are much easier to soften and are really good. Personally I would try and have a word with the new neighbours. Good luck.

I used silicone earplugs when trying to block out the screaming,shouting and constant grating of trikes and cars on concrete from noise in nextdoor's childminder's garden. Earplugs worked well.

The best ones as previously said is Boots wax muffles break them in half soften them with your fingers The silicon ones never stay in my ears

After ear surgeries I have had to wear earplugs for quite a long time. I found the wax 'muffles' from Boots very good and would split on in half as that was enough for one ear... would reuse as well. Superdrug have silicone soft ones now too also good.

I live on a busy road - love my house but why did I buy? Anyway, I had some silicon earplugs custom made at Specsavers. Think they were about £70. Marvellous.

(There are options to insulate and lower ceilings, though, but, of course, the chap didn't want to.)

My son bought an upstairs flat - and the man downstairs complained non-stop about the noise. A very old, very quiet lady had lived there before.

My son insulated all the floors (and stairs), wore slippers, didn't have music (or guests), no washing machines going, didn't slam doors etc. yet still, if he dared to use the vacuum, there'd be an instant complaint.

When he moved and rented out the flat, complaints were dealt with (or not) by the rental agents. Still, I always did wonder why the chap had bought a downstairs converted flat in the first place - being so sensitive.

Definately Silicone earplugs.

I’ve lived through that and it’s a problem! People walking in hard heels on wooden floors well beyond midnight… have they never heard of slippers??? Can you not afford a rug??? I was ready to shoot my brains out. And this was when I was younger and more tolerant of things.

I would have a word with the landlord. The landlord should be aware of other tenant’s sensibilities and tolerance. There’s a limit.

I agree that the soft, moldable silicone earplugs are very good and comfy at canceling out noise when you’re trying to sleep.

These are the best ear plugs I have found. (I used to use Boots’ but prefer these.)
www.britishsnoring.shop/products/snore-calm-foam-ear-plugs-30-pairs

They sell them in packs of five pairs too.

I really hope you find a solution.

Boots soft silicone earplugs are effective and you can wear them at night. I also have noise-cancelling headphones by Bose. There are other brands. Wearing the headphones I can still hear the tv but they block out traffic noise and some of the noise from neighbours.

My lovely upstairs neighbours have uncarpeted wooden floors, though the title deeds for all the flats specify no wooden floors in the upstairs flats. Nothing they can do about it as they rent their flat whilst I own mine. To be honest I am seldom disturbed by noise. They both work so out all day but I am very aware that they hoover ever Sunday morning, so that is when I take my hearing aids out, shower and wash my hair.

Hi I feel your pain I’ve been where you are now. Lived in a lovely block of flats really good neighbours then the man downstairs got a bungalow. Guy similar age to yours moved in. Full blast Rap music singing top of voice slamming doors washing machine going in the middle of the night hoover you name it he did it. Friends sleeping over having fun fights 24/7 unless sleep which I don’t think he did much. In end I contact landlord did recordings did diaries they spoke to him he would be quiet for few weeks then start again wore earplugs you name it I tried it nothing worked. Other neighbors complained and In end I moved into bungalow and I love it so quiet and when I go to bed I know I’m going to get to sleep all night long took me few months to settle. Because you will get to the point where you are hearing them when you not. My advice would be move between it’s not going to improve and all the screaming shouting and banging up won’t stop them. I tried talking to but when it’s constantly happening it starts to affect you mentally. I even sat crying to my drs because it was affecting so badly. So good luck from someone who has gone through it. 🥹

Beary Quiet silicone ear plugs are the best I've tried.

Are you in the uk? If so try to do some building regulation research about insulating requirements/expectations regarding wooden flooring. It must be awful having to cope with that type of noise.

Could you explain to them how loud the noise is, ideally getting them down to your flat one at a time whilst the other one clomps around.. then ask them for suggestions how to get quieter. It might be as simple as taking off their shoes. When this happened to me we had to take upthe floorboards and put some product in the spaces,but we did own our flats and he was very reasonable. You might find they are too