When you have to share your room with someone who snores, getting a peaceful sleep may be a hard thing to accomplish in most cases. There is a huge possibility of your night ending in sleepless and exhausting suffering. You wouldn’t like those big under-eye bags on your face for sure. Knowing how to deal with noisy roommates can save you from such pathetic situations.
You could be living in a hostel or a shared flat, and having conflicts with a person you live with is a common occurrence. While you can put aside regular disputes for a peaceful life, avoiding a noisy person isn’t a simple task. Especially when it hampers your physical and mental health both, you can’t simply give up and do nothing!
To resolve this issue, your approach should be based on how your roommate acts. He or she might be ignorant or simply arrogant toward your misery. With some, only talking to them would do the job, while some may need more of a sincere technique.
1. Communicate
At times, you may feel anger that your roommate is annoying you with their loud music, tv, unnecessary sounds, etc. But calling out to them without any warning is going to put a rift between you guys. He may not have noticed the discomfort he is causing you. Most people are decent enough to tone down their movement once notified.
This is where communication can do wonders. Once you inform them about your problem with noise, you can set your boundaries by discussing the specific issue. Like lowering the music volume, fixing some ‘silent hours’ throughout the day, limiting the loud phone calls to the balcony, etc. are some great methods for both parties.
2. Soundproof Your Room
When communication fails to settle the issue for you, you can always consider moving out as an option. However, changing your place may take time as finding a new one is not so easy. In such cases, you can soundproof your room using various methods. At first, you can insulate your room by weatherstripping or caulking your room’s walls or doors.
If you don’t want to spend money on it, put your furniture against the common walls. You could use soundproof blanket, and curtains as well. However, these solutions are perfect if the noise is happening outside your room. If your room is the origin of the sound pollution, it’s time to use some different methods.
3. Install Soundproof Room Divider Curtains
When your roommate is being noisy, the ultimate solution is to have an insulated nest for yourself. You can achieve it if you use a room divider curtain. Having the same materials on both sides, these are thicker and more layered than the regular ones. To make them even better at soundproofing, you can fix the MLV sheet inside as well.
For the best result, make sure the gap between the ceiling and the curtains is minimal. This method works great at providing privacy in a shared room.
4. Wear Earplugs or Noise-Canceling Headphones
Your musician roomy may like to practice in your shared room, or they are just too loud to be controlled. Or you just want to have silence around you. In this situation, wearing noise-canceling earplugs can save you. While you can choose the material according to your ear’s comfort, these products won’t even cost you much.
Wear them during your study time or sleeping time, and no sound is going to disturb you unless you take them out.
5. Put on Some White Noise
White noise is a great technique to ensure you have the quiet environment you crave. Basically, all the audible sound frequencies from 20-20000 Hz merge together to create the white noise. This can mask all the other sound frequencies including your roommate’s doing too. You can focus more on your work and have a great sleep pattern, ultimately leading to a better life.
You can get several white noise producing products in the market. Some of them even have the customization option to incorporate the sounds you like. You can also use the white noise fan.
6. Take Revenge on Noisy Housemates:
This may sound petty at first, but sometimes doing the same stuff can make people realize their mistakes. You can show your careless roommates how it feels if you start acting like them. Even your noisy housemates need a silent hour for them. Figure that out and start being loud yourself just then!
You can turn up the music or TV volume, start singing at the top of your voice or work loudly. If still your flat-mates don’t get how wrong they have been doing to you, keep doing the same thing!
Final Words
Living with a person other than your own family may seem easy at first, but it has its ups and downs depending on the situation. While you can compromise with most things, you can’t sacrifice your sanity. If your loud roommate doesn’t acknowledge the fact that he is disturbing you, maybe it’s time to look for a quieter person to share your place with.
But what if your next roommate turns out to be the same, or worse? It’s not possible to know beforehand. Hence, the best solution is to learn the techniques of how to deal with noisy roommates. This way, you can live your life peacefully without further confrontations.
