Photo credit: Hossein Zohrevand licensed under CC BY 4.0
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
This article on SportsBible.com provides an insight into how the rich and famous deal with the noisy neighbor problem, by doing something that isn’t feasible for us regular folk. According to one of international soccer superstar Lionel Messi’s teammates, when Messi was bothered by the noise a neighbor was making, he simply bought the neighbor’s house!
Neighbor noise can be a vexing problem not just for the uber-wealthy, who seem to be able to live by rules different from the rest of us, but for anyone living anywhere. The Quiet Coalition has covered this topic multiple times, with helpful advice and sage commentary often provided by our colleague Arline Bronzaft, PhD. It is a major problem in New York City, one of the more densely populated cities in the U.S. and the world, but can be a problem in suburban and even rural areas as well.
Ideally, people living as neighbors should follow the social rules of common courtesy: if something you are doing bothers somebody, you shouldn’t do it. Obviously, reasonable limits have to apply.
If neighborly compromise doesn’t work, then municipal authorities must step in to make certain the relevant noise ordinances are followed.
Unwanted noise is stressful. It interrupts sleep and disturbs human activity.
A quieter world will be a better and healthier world for all.
