Had to choose between noise-cancelling headphones or a white noise machine for my upstairs neighbor's stomping

I went with the headphones after three sleepless nights in my Chicago studio, but now my ears get sweaty after an hour. Has anyone tried both and found one actually works better for bass-heavy footsteps?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo_harris7d ago

My buddy Kevin went through this exact same thing in his Brooklyn walkup. He tried the white noise machine first but said it was useless against the low thump of his neighbor's footsteps, just made his apartment sound like a wind tunnel. Switched to some over-ear headphones and they worked okay for about two weeks until the padding started peeling from sweat. Now he sleeps with a box fan right next to his bed pointed at the ceiling and swears by it, says the combo of noise and air movement drowns out everything. Might be worth trying before you commit to either option long term.

jamiew837d ago

Man, I gotta tell you, I've dealt with this same kind of noise in cheap motels all over the country. A box fan is decent, but honestly you're still hearing that low thump through it. Something nobody brings up is what you put between your ears and the noise. I learned to sleep with foam earplugs AND a fan on, it's like a double layer. The fan handles the high stuff and the plugs knock down that deep bass stomp. Just make sure you get the right shape earplugs, the cheap ones always fall out.