Neighbour's Low-Frequency Air Conditioner Noise Drives My Tinnitus Mad

[Monique3@]

Hi. I have low frequency tinnitus as well as a higher pitched sound in my ear, kind of like white noise. I am somewhat used to it and could sleep at night if I slept in the sofa in the family room and couldn't hear the neighbour's old air conditioner because of my fridge noises.

However, my house and my neighbour's house are so close together and both our air conditioner units are close to each other in the same area between houses.

They just bought a new air conditioner and I thought things would get better after they threw out the old one.

However, this brand new one seems to have the same low-frequency bass-like "hum" that my tinnitus "sounds" have and this air conditioner noise comes through the walls and into my bedroom even worse now and it's really loud even though this is supposed to be one of the quietest air conditioners around (so our neighbour says) and cost them a lot of money (what they say).

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to keep my sanity and sleep soundly at least at night? I feel I need to sell my home and move into a different home with more space in between houses, and would that even help?

I would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

 

[CathyJ]

All I can suggest is finding a sound that is "acceptable" and then using it to mask the A/C sound. I use a box fan in my room when home. I've also used YouTube and used meditation sounds. I use a white noise machine with multiple sound choices when I travel--everything from a fan to rain to a thunderstorm. And I also keep an app on my phone called White Noise Lite on my Smartphone. But the Play Store has lots of other white noise apps, too.

 

[kingsfan]

I agree, white noise might cancel out the sound. Does white noise bother your tinnitus?

I used to use a Marpac Dohm to drown out all the noise outside my apartment. It worked really well. White noise drives my tinnitus nuts now, so I can't use it anymore.

If you sleep on your back, a pair of noise cancelling headphones might block it out. Just turn on the noise cancelling, don't play any audio on them.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to keep my sanity and sleep soundly at least at night? I feel I need to sell my home and move into a different home with more space in between houses, and would that even help?

The sound you describe can be very annoying even for someone that doesn't have tinnitus. Trying to mask it with another sound I don't think will be of much benefit and could irritate you more but it's worth a try. I suggest you consider sound proofing but seek professional advice on this for best results and options available.

Best of luck.
Michael