Noise Reduction

[zebramatt]

What about if you stick empty egg cartons to all the walls? 

[eRe4s3r]

Heh.. maybe if you shreddered and stacked them 10 feet deep and then compressed them, mixed them up with compound glue and use them like cement....

That paper like material has incredible low density so dampens very little.

Again, with Noise the only thing that helps is density of the material between you and the noise (as long as that material ain't water or any gas)

If theres air in-between its pointless sadly....

[Nalgas]

The other thing that occurs to me is cheap DIY door soundproofing. We hang blackout curtains on my son's windows so that he can nap, but we made the discovery that it also really blocks incoming sound from outside. Not completely, but it really helps a surprising bit.

I get very easily distracted by some kinds of sounds (I'd rather work in a windowless closet somewhere than a cubicle, and I'm a proud member of Team "All Ticking Clocks Must Die"), and I've found simple things like that surprisingly effective at home, too.  One particularly cold winter, I hung a thick, heavy sleeping bag over the window my computer's near, over the blinds and regular curtains, just trying to keep it a little warmer without turning the heat up (very successful with that), and while it obviously didn't block everything out, it made a noticeable difference.  I was very, very sad that spring when it finally got so warm that I was forced to take it down and open the window, and the noise level immediately jumped at least a good 30 dB.  It's not like I can wear my Etymotics all day, or my ears start to feel funny.  Now every year I impatiently wait for it to get cool enough that I can cover the windows again.  Heh.

[x4000]

That's a good idea -- sleeping bag on the window.

There's a lot more people sensitive to sound than I realized; especially among the more-intellectual-than-a-lot-of-places crowd here.  Very interesting.

[Wingflier]

The other thing that occurs to me is cheap DIY door soundproofing. We hang blackout curtains on my son's windows so that he can nap, but we made the discovery that it also really blocks incoming sound from outside. Not completely, but it really helps a surprising bit.

I get very easily distracted by some kinds of sounds (I'd rather work in a windowless closet somewhere than a cubicle, and I'm a proud member of Team "All Ticking Clocks Must Die"), and I've found simple things like that surprisingly effective at home, too.  One particularly cold winter, I hung a thick, heavy sleeping bag over the window my computer's near, over the blinds and regular curtains, just trying to keep it a little warmer without turning the heat up (very successful with that), and while it obviously didn't block everything out, it made a noticeable difference.  I was very, very sad that spring when it finally got so warm that I was forced to take it down and open the window, and the noise level immediately jumped at least a good 30 dB.  It's not like I can wear my Etymotics all day, or my ears start to feel funny.  Now every year I impatiently wait for it to get cool enough that I can cover the windows again.  Heh.

Out of curiosity, what is it outside during the summer that is so annoying to you?

On a related note, this thread has been a life-saver for me.  My quiet time is extremely important.  I believe in the Buddhist philosophy of meditation and finding inner peace, which I've pretty much come to the conclusion is impossible when you're surrounded by excessive noise.  Though it's hard to believe that these "white noise generators" can create noise audible enough to cancel most things out, but not distinguishable enough to get annoying, I think the reviews speak for themselves.  I'll definitely be picking one of these up sooner or later.  Unfortunately, I live under hardwood floors, and zero insulation in-between.  I can practically hear the sounds above me like I were in the same room.  Since the people above me are some of the most loud and obnoxious beings on the Earth (not including their dogs, which are also loud and obnoxious), it can get very irritating to deal with at times.  I'm curious to see how big of an impact this thing can have.

Anyway, thanks guys!

[Nalgas]

Out of curiosity, what is it outside during the summer that is so annoying to you?

It would almost be easier to list what isn't, but let's see: traffic, lawnmowers, road construction, home renovations, kids running around in the street all day, birds, crickets...you get the idea.  Basically there's always something going on while it's warm out, or several somethings at once, and then in the winter when it's cold, dark, and snowy, everyone finally goes indoors and shuts up for a while.  Heh.

[Wingflier]

Lol yeah, I can tell you value your quiet time just as much as I do.  Sometimes I feel like being excessively noisy or obnoxious is very disrespectful to the people around you, and it's something most people don't think about.  I've even asked those in my area politely to stop more than once, but it doesn't seem to make a difference most of the time (or they're quiet for like 5 minutes lol).  Some noise you just can't prevent I understand, but at least in my experience, the vast majority of it is excessive.  It's good that someone else felt the same way and made one of these devices ;p