What's the best way to reduce noise of rock & roll and drum-beats and heavey traffic during sleeping?

Question

I live in downtown Manhattan. My room faces an extremely busy street directly and there are many heavy trucks back and forth even after mid-night. Even worse, there is many pubs and clubs around. And directly beneath me is a pizza shop, which plays the hard rock&roll for the whole night and tends to increase the volume after mid-night. I don't think the new NYC noise code will help much. In sum, there is zero time that the place is quiet. I've bought foam ear plugs, but they don't help much, esp. for the rock&roll and disco type. I read the previous Q&As and thought I might have the following options: (1) military ear plugs; (2) musician ear plugs; (3) gun shooting ear plugs; (4) try more foam plugs from different manufactures. Is there a place in NYC that I can try all of the above options all at once. Specifically, which type of ear plugs is the most effective on rock&roll&disco type noise? Please give links so I can buy. I am directly sleeping on their high-vibrating sound systems.

Answer 1

The bass of drum beats is such a strong vibration that no ear plug or muff can block it because you can literally hear it through your body. Solid custom silicone earplugs in combination with earmuffs (like they have for mowing the lawn) is the best noise protection. Of course it's not comfortable to sleep with the muffs on, so custom molded solid silicone plugs will give you the highest noise-reduction rating (NRR) - they can be made by an Audiologist and are not covered by health insurance. Cost in Manhattan should be between $100-150 in my estimation (I'm an Audiologist in NJ).

The most effective thing to do would be to put noise absorbing materials around the apartment to dampen the vibrations -- like padded carpeting, and padding over the windows that you can roll up during the day.

Beyond that, you can try masking the noise by having a fan running all night (I run the air conditioner's fan without the compressor on cooler nights), or one of those noise machines that has the sound of the ocean or rainforest, etc.

You should also discuss the issue with your landlord or building manager or whomever regulates any structural changes. Also check what your rights may be regarding who is responsible for the noise reduction... you might be able to get out of your lease or have the building's owner pay at least part of any improvements you do.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

There are a few things you can do. Earplugs isn't enough. You might need to put in some soundproofing of some kind, You can also add "white noise" - like the sound of a fan, etc., to block out the sound a bit. A trick I use is to actually concentrate on the sound right before I go to sleep (if its noisy) so that I'm accustomed to the sound. And if its really as loud as you say it is, you might have some legal recourse against the pizza place, but I doubt there's anything you can do about the street noise other than to shut the window and possibly put in some soundproofing in the window as well. Be sure to use something that is fire resistant, or you could have a disaster on your hands - remember "Great White"? Don't take a short cut on the safety of the soundproofing materials - it could be fatal. Some heavy blankets alone could help. Also, getting your bed up higher away from the floor might help somewhat.

Answer 3

That you need is more noise. Better put white noise this is a sound that will block most of the other sounds that are troubling to you. The cheapest way to make this noise is with the steady sound of a fan. There are thing you can buy that make this type of noise as well.