Continuous Noise

Another type of long-term noise possibly heard in residential areas is renovation noise. In Malaysia, it is quite normal to see houses undergoing renovation, especially for landed properties. Depending on the scale of work, a renovation job can last from a few weeks, to a few months. For major renovations like demolition, wall-hackings, and remodelling of building structure, these often produce extremely loud noises and even vibration. The structure-borne noise and vibration will strongly affect the neighbouring houses, causing nuisance, and sometimes even leading to health issues if it reaches a serious stage. Why so? This is because a person who is exposed to excessive loud noises for long-term will face problems like stress, poor concentration and sometimes fatigue due to bad sleep quality. If not treated properly, these may eventually lead to even serious cases like cardiovascular diseases, cognitive impairment, or hearing loss.

What should you do if you have noisy neighbours?

Communication is the key. Sometimes, your neighbour is not aware of the noise that they are making. Try to speak politely to them to let them understand the condition that you are experiencing. Although this sounds like a very subjective method, this has indeed solved many people’s problems immediately.

To avoid any unnecessary disputes between neighbours, it is imperative to find the right time to have a talk with them. Being reasonable and polite is definitely more effective as compared to being aggressive and confrontational. It may be good to also let know them specifically what type of noise, or at what time does the noise affected you, so that the neighbour knows what to do.

However, if the situation still prevails and the neighbour is being rather inconsiderate, you can try to approach the authority or management. Worst case scenario would be to take legal actions against your neighbour. Still, be aware that these methods will raise attention and cause certain dispute among residents, so only consider such actions when it is absolutely necessary.

How to prevent yourself from being the noisy one?

There is no confirmation that once you take these measures, your house will definitely be very quiet. But at least you can reduce the risk of causing nuisance to your neighbours.

The idea is to be reasonable and understanding by doing the right thing at the right time. For example, avoid carrying out loud activities in the middle of the night when everyone should be sleeping. You would not want to hear loud music-jamming at 2 am, or aerobics class going on at 5 am. So, put yourself in other’s shoes, and most importantly, treat others like how you would want them to treat you, and you most likely will not cross the line.