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Let me tell you a true story that happened on a weekday morning.
Around 6:00 a.m., I was awakened from my sleep by the alarm clock upstairs.
Yes, you heard me right, it's the alarm clock upstairs, not one of my family members'.
Some people might wonder how the alarm clock upstairs could reach your room.
Let me explain how I was woken up. First, my apartment has poor soundproofing and low ceilings, so I can usually hear footsteps from upstairs. Coincidentally, the alarm clock upstairs is a vibrating type, just like mine. So, I always wake up quickly when I hear this sound. This morning, after waking up, I picked up my phone to turn off the alarm. I realized it was only 6:00 AM, so the sound clearly wasn't coming from here. I listened carefully to the source of the noise and found it was coming from upstairs. I was very curious why the vibration was so clear, like it was right next to my ear.
At first, I didn't really care, thinking that the alarm clock would wake up soon enough, and I could just bear it. But what angered me was that the alarm clock upstairs rang for more than 30 minutes, and the key point was that it kept ringing, and the upstairs neighbor didn't get up to turn it off.
Are the people upstairs sleeping too soundly? Or have they already gotten up and left their phones in the bedroom? My alarm is for 7:30 every day, and they wake me up so early! My extra hour of sleep is being stolen away!
The more I think about it, the angrier I get; the more unfair it seems. No, I can't be a coward. I have to tell the upstairs neighbor that their alarm clock is driving me crazy.
So I went upstairs. I knocked very politely, constantly reminding myself, "I'm a cultured person, I must remain calm at all times." The door opened, and a woman with a very harsh appearance stood out. She impatiently asked who I was and what I wanted. I calmly told her, "Nothing much, I'm from downstairs. I just wanted to let you know if anyone in your house has left their phone alarm on. Could you please turn it off when you have time? It's too noisy." I thought I had been very polite, but to my utter surprise, she suddenly replied, "You can hear a phone alarm? Your ears are too sensitive! Why are you so concerned about the sounds from my house?"
I...emmmmmm...f...
At that moment, an unnamed fire suddenly ignited in my heart. No destruction, no construction. It seems that politeness is gradually leaving me. I rolled up my sleeves and went to the battlefield.
Retort: "No, I knocked on your door early this morning just to lie to you? Besides, it's not just the alarm clock. I've heard many other noises. I tolerated your child wailing at 1 a.m., and I didn't say anything when your mother chopped dumpling filling until 9 p.m. Your eldest daughter yelling at your son for no reason-that's your family business. Sometimes you also hysterically yell at people, and I think I've come to understand... But this morning, I wanted to sleep a little longer, so I couldn't help but come and tell you. You can't control your husband, child, or mother-in-law, but you can't even control your phone alarm clock? When the alarm rings, can't you just pick it up and turn it off? Why do you have to let it ring for half an hour? Is your phone hanging on the ceiling, or are your ears blocked with earwax? I see you're a mother now, and raising a child isn't easy. I haven't complained when I shouldn't, but if you continue to impose your willful behavior on the suffering of your neighbors, I don't think I have any reason to continue to tolerate it."
Perhaps a little stunned by my words, this neighbor didn't know how to respond for a moment, and only said, "I can't be bothered to talk to you," before closing her door.
Over the next few days, things seemed to improve a bit; I didn't hear the alarm clock as much, but other noises were still there. It didn't matter, as long as I could get a good night's sleep in the morning...
1. So, can people downstairs really hear the alarm clock upstairs?
Yes. The sound waves generated by a vibrating alarm clock can travel through the bedside table and wall to the floor below. If the ceiling is low and the bed downstairs is made of wood and close to the wall, it is not impossible for someone downstairs to hear the alarm clock upstairs.
2. How should this kind of problem be solved?
The noise from an alarm clock is a normal part of daily life. Everyone wakes up at different times. You can modify a vibrating alarm clock to play music; or place your phone on the mattress, not in a place that is rigidly connected to the wall.
3. The noise from upstairs and downstairs is so obvious, how should we deal with it?
The downstairs neighbors can even hear the upstairs neighbors talking, which is more than just solid-borne sound transmission; the floor slab also has very poor airborne sound insulation. This is related to the thickness of the floor slab and the ceiling height. If the upstairs neighbors have unusual lifestyles and are unaware of this, continuing to do so despite knowing they are disturbing others, the downstairs neighbors and their neighbors have the right to condemn them.
4. How can this problem be solved?
Often, we feel powerless in the face of unreasonable behavior from upstairs neighbors. Communication is useless, property management is useless, the police are useless. If we are overly concerned about noise, we become increasingly sensitive and gradually head towards neurasthenia. At this point, many people will choose more extreme methods to retaliate.