Extreme problems falling asleep with noise

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So it's 3:35 am here and I haven't slept yet. I went to bed at 1 and tried for 2 hours but I just grew more and more awake. It's not only that my thoughts won't keep racing, it's mostly because of the noise coming from the next room.

Now I know this might sound stupid. But when I try to fall asleep, I am EXTREMELY sensitive to noise, at least certain noises. Now I don't mind stuff like rain or even storms... but even when I'm using earplugs and can very faintly hear a TV in the next room (like tonight) it bugs me to no end. It makes me way too alert to fall asleep. Even if I was tired to begin with I will soon feel totally awake. And then it starts to make me agressive. In this case the guy living next to me always stays up until at least 3 am, and he will usually talk on Skype or watch TV until he goes to bed. It's not even really loud, just audible, and the walls here are really thin. But it makes me so frustrated. I almost started to cry and my heart was racing. And I just don't know why - if rainstorms don't bother me, why should the sounds of TV or someone talking? Is this maybe a kind of misophonia (though as far as I know that's more about sounds of eating or chewing gum, which I don't mind)?

Now.. I don't know what to do about this.. can I ask him to use his headset after midnight so at least I won't hear his TV, or would that be impolite? I'm really unsure about things like that.. I mean, I can't forbid him to do what he wants to just because I'm so noise sensitive...

I may be wrong, but I would think if you approached him politely and asked him to use headphones after midnight it would be just fine. I might just say vaguely that you have health problems and something like "you are not being unreasonably loud or anything", I am just wondering if we can work something out, would you mind? I think it would be in the way you approach him and be clear you are not complaining just requesting due to health problems.

How does that sound? Then I guess it would depend on how comfortable you are asking him and if it weighs out against your need for sleep. I would have a hard time at first, but if I saw no relief in sight I think I would talk to him. I'd even offer to buy him headphones if he doesn't have any, but I always get in trouble from people when I want to make an offer like that so we'll see what other people say.

I have this exact problem. I use earplugs. If I can hear my roommate talking or his TV/computer going WITH the earplugs in, that's when I tell him to turn it down, use headphones, whatever. What the earplugs do is reduce my sensitivity to the noise to something approaching normal, although I suspect I'm more sensitive to it WITH earplugs than most people are WITHOUT! (Their noise reduction rating is 33 dB, and I think I'm at least 33 dB more sensitive than most!)

Also, like the OP, rain and even thunderstorms don't bother me! Could be that human voices when I'm trying to sleep sound like people having fun, doing things I'd rather be doing than try to sleep when I'm not sleepy, or only very marginally so!

I seem to have the opposite problem. I need noise to fall asleep, except for last night. The elevators, toilets flushing, etc. were really annoying. Then again, I just attended a funeral and then, a day later, got on two airplanes. Pretty overstimulating!

I am exactly the same, worse maybe - If I can hear a neighbours tv or music, even if I am not trying to sleep, I get extremely worked up...I just can't help it. Alternatively, when I am sleeping I need to have white noise drown out the chance of any external noise while when I sleep.

Ear plugs

I have this issue also.

I have had serious problems sleeping for as long as I can recall. I have real trouble getting to sleep but then am so tired the next day that I sleep in and am late for work. My wife will just lie down, close her eyes and she is asleep in 5 minutes. With me, I lie down, close my eyes and my brain decides it wants to bombard me with thoughts, memories and ideas. I will often lie like this for an hour or two and end up just getting up again. When the people in the upstairs flat are having a party or something else noisy it just makes it worse. I have complained numerous times but I think that was reasonable given they were hosting loud parties until 4am on a weekday.

One thing that does seem to help sometimes is listening to calming spoken word. I will often listen to podcasts or audiobooks as I go to sleep and this seems to distract my brain enough to prevent it flooding me with thoughts long enough to get to sleep. Does not always work but best method I have found so far. Oh, also try some of the sleep relaxation vids on youtube - a few of those are quite good.

I have the same problem too. Trying to sleep in hotel rooms is torture. Would a white noise machine work for you? That probably sounds counter-intuitive but I've found that if I have no other options, using a consistent noise to drown out an inconsistent noise like a TV or conversation helps me relax enough to get to sleep. For me it seems to be the inconsistency or unpredictability of certain human-made noise that makes me too alert to sleep.

Another problem might be that my sleep cycle is pretty unusual. I think night shift would be something for me. Because I am pretty much NEVER tired at night. I actually feel more awake after midnight sometimes. I'll get tired the next day between 11 am and 4 pm. That would be the ideal time to sleep for me. Doesn't work with university though.

And something different (off topic): The guy who had his TV on tonight has his girlfriend visiting him at the moment, and oh god, she's such a stupid b*tch. Luckily she's only here for 8 days. If she lived next to me permanently it would end in war. Not only is she very cold and unfriendly and arrogant (because she's a dancer and she obviously feels SO PRETTY), she also rearranged our entire kitchen because she thought it was necessary to have a system in it. I mean what. I don't approve of people taking my stuff and putting it somewhere else so I have to search. Yesterday she wrote an angry note to everyone about how she had cleaned the kitchen and we had made it dirty again and that apparently nobody cared about the dirt. What the hell. It doesn't even look bad in there! And she's a guest and has no right to claim anything! She's also great at slamming the doors all day. I'm so glad I only have to stand her for 3 more days.

I have this problem too.....I can't sleep until everyone else in the house is asleep because I can't sleep with the little noises they make doing things around the house....or if the neighbours are making noise.....but luckily they most often don't.

I've often said that I wish I had a 30db attenuator switch on my head so I could reduce noises... and then use earplugs too. The worst is music, people talking and dogs barking. If I can hear the slightest trace, no sleep. Most people, except those here, have no understanding of this at all. Some actually need noise to get to sleep.

Sometimes I think it's not even the noise itself that bothers me - as I'm perfectly fine with louder stuff like thunder. It's more the context, I guess. Because I consider people that are "loud" at night rude and inconsiderate - and the Aspie me can't bear injustice so it enrages me.

Why, oh why can't we "close" our ears like we close our eyes.

i have the same problem and earplugs dont have enough noise reduction. people talk loudly outside after midnight sometimes, especially on weekends. i live first floor, ground level.
one, yes, you can ask your neighbor to please use headphones. he's supposed to hear the music, not you. tell him you wouldnt mind if it was in the day time, but at night you simply cant fall asleep with noise.
you can plaster cement on your wall if it's so thin, but it costs money, and i dont know if you live in your own place or a rented apartment, in which case you cant do it.
you can try hypnosis, they have sessions online. i'd try it but i dont have sound system on my computer (a desktop). i'll buy one soon as i get the money.
i also heard today they make a certain kind of earplugs that special for your ears only, because every person has a different ear canal. those might result in better noise reduction. check it out on the net.

If someone on the floor above snores or leaves the radio on, for me, it isn't worth even trying to get to sleep until the noise is gone or I can assert some special circumstance.