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