Extremely Noisy Neighbors!!! PLEASE HELP!!!

[noisehurts]

I live in a building that is 50 years old and the people above me run their AC year round non-stop. In my bedroom at night I can clearly hear their AC and the condenser making all kinds of noise from 10:00 pm - 8:00 am NON-STOP. This has gotten to the point where it makes me cry every night. Then their AC in their living room also is on 24X7 all you hear in my apartment is HHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM all the time. I love my apartment but this annoying noise is making me miserable. I even have doctor's letters confirming that this noise is affecting me in a negative way but they refuse to stop. BTW we do not pay for gas or electric in my building. I have complained over 20 times to the building manager but he does not take action. The other day someone complained about my kids playing inside of my apartment and the building manager immediately took action and served my 11 year old daughter with a notice saying that if my kids don't stop playing in the apartment I will have to meet with the co-op board. I wish he would handle my noise complaint with such effort as he did the people that complained about me.

[momtothree]

Originally Posted by noisehurts

I live in a building that is 50 years old and the people above me run their AC year round non-stop. In my bedroom at night I can clearly hear their AC and the condenser making all kinds of noise from 10:00 pm - 8:00 am NON-STOP. This has gotten to the point where it makes me cry every night. Then their AC in their living room also is on 24X7 all you hear in my apartment is HHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM all the time. I love my apartment but this annoying noise is making me miserable. I even have doctor's letters confirming that this noise is affecting me in a negative way but they refuse to stop. BTW we do not pay for gas or electric in my building. I have complained over 20 times to the building manager but he does not take action. The other day someone complained about my kids playing inside of my apartment and the building manager immediately took action and served my 11 year old daughter with a notice saying that if my kids don't stop playing in the apartment I will have to meet with the co-op board. I wish he would handle my noise complaint with such effort as he did the people that complained about me.

AC isn't unreasonable noise. Kids playing, is.

I would invest in a white noise machine to zone out the AC noise.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by noisehurts

I live in a building that is 50 years old and the people above me run their AC year round non-stop. In my bedroom at night I can clearly hear their AC and the condenser making all kinds of noise from 10:00 pm - 8:00 am NON-STOP. This has gotten to the point where it makes me cry every night. Then their AC in their living room also is on 24X7 all you hear in my apartment is HHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM all the time. I love my apartment but this annoying noise is making me miserable. I even have doctor's letters confirming that this noise is affecting me in a negative way but they refuse to stop. BTW we do not pay for gas or electric in my building. I have complained over 20 times to the building manager but he does not take action. The other day someone complained about my kids playing inside of my apartment and the building manager immediately took action and served my 11 year old daughter with a notice saying that if my kids don't stop playing in the apartment I will have to meet with the co-op board. I wish he would handle my noise complaint with such effort as he did the people that complained about me.

Originally Posted by momtothree

AC isn't unreasonable noise. Kids playing, is.

I would invest in a white noise machine to zone out the AC noise.

I agree. I had a tenant move out who decided the air conditioner across from her apartment was driving her crazy. She'd been listening to it for over a year, it was there when she moved in. Our apartments have window air conditioners. She wanted me to make them get a new one that was quiet or make them not use it. Wasn't gonna happen. She decided to move out.

She also complained that her dripping shower head was driving her crazy when she meditated in the morning after taking a shower. The drip stopped after a while after her using it for her shower. By the time the owner (who does maintenance) and I went into her apartment around noon, it wasn't dripping anymore. She was adamant that the owner do something, so he unscrewed the shower head and put it back on.

If someone is having loud parties or loud fights, or their children are out of control, and a warning notice doesn't make them knock it off, I will kick them out with a 30 day notice (all month-to-month here). But, if your refrigerator or your heater or someone's air conditioner makes noise, that's not something I will do anything about.

So, you see, I would be doing the same thing your manager is doing regarding your kids vs. the air conditioners.

I deal with noise in my apartment, too. I use a huge fan for white noise. You might try that. If that doesn't work, you'll have to move for peace of mind. Find a place with central heat/air in the units instead of window a/c units.

This is the fan I use. It's a big industrial fan. I have it on in my living room with me now to drown out the street noise. I move it into my bedroom at night.

Patton 14-inch Workshop Fan | Overstock.com

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by noisehurts

I live in a building that is 50 years old and the people above me run their AC year round non-stop. In my bedroom at night I can clearly hear their AC and the condenser making all kinds of noise from 10:00 pm - 8:00 am NON-STOP. This has gotten to the point where it makes me cry every night. Then their AC in their living room also is on 24X7 all you hear in my apartment is HHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM all the time. I love my apartment but this annoying noise is making me miserable. I even have doctor's letters confirming that this noise is affecting me in a negative way but they refuse to stop. BTW we do not pay for gas or electric in my building. I have complained over 20 times to the building manager but he does not take action. The other day someone complained about my kids playing inside of my apartment and the building manager immediately took action and served my 11 year old daughter with a notice saying that if my kids don't stop playing in the apartment I will have to meet with the co-op board. I wish he would handle my noise complaint with such effort as he did the people that complained about me.

You don't have a leg to stand on, plan on moving out when your lease is up. Be sure to check the new apartment for AC noise before leasing it.

The board cannot stop your kids from playing in the apartment, that would be illegal, but they can demand that they stop making unreasonable noise and disturbing other tenants.

[ca_north]

Originally Posted by Ninjahedge

...It all depends on how loud they really are. I am not saying that you are wrong in this, but if you are not used to living near people, the adjustment can sometimes be very difficult. I would reserve the times you confront them to ones where everyone can agree is a bad time for noise, such as after 10 or so at night. Any other time will not get you as much sympathy or cooperation....
GL.

You think they might be overreacting to something that's obviously a hassle? Did you notice the word "extremely" in the title?

Denial of noisy neighbors is almost as annoying as noisy neighbors themselves. People often go out of their way to avoid conflict, until that avoidance creates its own pathology.

I lived in a place where some "ethnic" people moved in and ruined the quality of life with subwoofers and constant visitors. But one of them did it passively, being a non-noisy neighbor who pretended she wasn't affected by the noisy ones (aka lying about it). It was obvious that she feared being seen as a "snitch" and I came to resent her lack of help as much as the low-life noise-makers themselves.