If you can hear a neighbor snoring through the wall, you most likely live in an apartment. I understand what you are going through.

It’s 3 AM, and the snore is so loud it vibrates the entire room. You wonder whether you should move.

How to block snoring through a wall

If you love the apartment, moving should be your last resort. First, work on quieting things down a bit, and there are plenty of ways you can do it. Some of these ways include:

Get earplugs

While they are uncomfortable at first, things improve as you get used to them. When properly worn, they block most of the noise, and you stop hearing your annoying snoring noise.

While there are plenty of earplugs in the market, I recommend you go for Ohropax wax classic plugs.

These earplugs are made from wax, and due to your body heat, the wax gets soft and adjusts itself to your ear canal. After a few minutes, the earplugs seal your ears such that you can hardly hear any noise.

Since they mold into your ear, they are so comfortable you can’t even remember you had them in.

If you wear earplugs and you can still hear the snoring, try out noise-canceling headphones. I’ve had a lot of success with these construction headphones. Once I put them on, I can’t hear anything.

If you can sleep with music on, connect the headphones to your laptop or phone and put on your favorite jams.

Use a fan

A popular culture goes around that if you love using a fan, you are a fan fan. I personally don’t find it funny. Do you?

There is nothing fancy about the fan. You connect it to your power outlet, and it starts running. The fan produces mild sounds that drown outside noises so you can have a good night’s sleep.

If you can afford it, get a white noise machine. To mask the annoying snores, set the volume a little louder than the snores.

Remember, the volume should be within your comfortable listening range. You don’t want to damage your hearing.

White noise machines work best in properly aerated areas, so ensure your bedroom isn’t stuffy before getting one.

Good quality noise machines don’t come cheap. The cool thing is, in addition to the good quality machine lasting for a long time, it also provides better quality sound.

One of the best machines I’ve come across is this LectroFan.

If you don’t have the budget for a fan or white noise machine, plenty of free sites and apps generate rain sounds that can drown the noise.

Two excellent sites I have regularly used are: https://www.rainymood.com/ and https://simplynoise.com/. I especially love the rainy mood as it generates real rainy sounds, and you can adjust the volume from the site itself.

Connect your laptop or phone to your WIFI network, then plug in your headphones or speakers, and you will be on your way to a beautiful, peaceful night.

Switch the location of the bed

This might sound farfetched, but I discussed with a friend who mentioned he reduced noises from an upstairs neighbor by changing the bed location.

One of the reasons you can hear your neighbor is because you share a wall with their bed or your bed is directly under theirs.

Try moving your bed to a different location and see whether you can still hear the snoring. If the snoring is still loud and you have a spare room, switch to the other room and see whether things will improve.

Soundproof your bedroom

If you have tried all of the above and nothing is working, consider soundproofing your bedroom.

Soundproofing is expensive, so before you chuck out money from your pocket, talk to your landlord and find out if they are willing to soundproof the room.

If they aren’t willing to do it and you love the apartment, you can decide to soundproof it from your pocket.

You don’t need to soundproof the entire room—the wall you share with your neighbor or the ceiling is enough if they are above you.

For best results, have the soundproofing work done by a professional, but if you are a dab hand at DIY, give it a shot. Buy soundproofing foam and other materials online, then read or watch installation tutorials.

If you aren’t sure what you are doing, try out wall stickers and soundproofing wallpaper as they are easier to use.

Give the neighbor some gifts

What is your relationship with your neighbor? If you are in good talking terms, you can gently approach them and let them know what you are going through.

It’s hard to tell them to stop snoring, but you can help them stop using several products. These include:

Nasal strips: These are designed for snore people due to congestion or collapse of the nasal passages at night. They aren’t expensive, so you won’t spend a lot of money getting them.

If you can’t find them at your local store, you can order them online here.

Nasal strips work by sticking to the nose bridge and lifting the nose’s side to open the nasal passages.

Chin straps: They work well for people that snore since they breathe through their mouth instead of their nose when sleeping.

When properly worn, they hold the mouth closed, encouraging nasal breathing and eliminating snoring chances.

Nasal dilators: They work the same way as nasal strips, but now you insert them in your nostrils instead of sticking them to the outside.

The goal of wearing them is to open the nasal cavity and widen it so that air can flow freely.

Anti-snoring mouthpieces: They work properly for people snoring due to a mouth obstruction.

You can buy two types of mouthpieces: Those that hold the tongue away from the back of the throat and those that adjust the jaw’s position, allowing better airflow. You should buy the one you feel will be good for your neighbor.

Anti-snoring sprays: These work by contracting the tissue inside the nose and mouth, creating a larger space for air to get through. Some of the sprays work by keeping the inside of the nose and mouth lubricated, reducing friction.

Advise your neighbor to visit a doctor

If you have given your neighbor several gifts and none seems to work, or they aren’t willing to try them out, advise them to visit a doctor to have the issue professionally examined as it’s a serious bother to you.

Let them know they might be having a medical condition such as sleep apnea, a deformity in the nasal passages, a growth or blockage in the nose or throat, or they might be suffering from an allergy.

As you are explaining this to them, do so in a loving way. Don’t be aggressive or try to command them.

Can the neighbor be evicted for snoring?

Since the neighbor is causing a disturbance, you might be wondering whether they can be evicted for making noise. Unfortunately, they can’t as the noise can’t be helped and they aren’t doing it deliberately.

If they were playing loud music or holding parties, it can cause eviction but not snoring.

If you have tried all of the above ways and none is working, move to a new apartment. I hope this time you won’t have an annoying neighbor. After all, how unlucky can one be?