If you got neighbors talking loudly at night, you aren’t alone. Two years ago, I had a similar problem when a beautiful lady moved into the apartment above mine.

As much as I was excited I had a beautiful neighbor, the excitement soon faded as I could hear her talking on the phone for hours at night to a man (probably her boyfriend).

The funny thing is that I could not only hear her voice, but the man’s voice as well—I guess she had him on loudspeaker.

I listened to their conversations for some time, but they soon became annoying as I couldn’t sleep. They were even more annoying when I had friends over and tried to have a good time.

To solve the issue, I had to time her when she was back from work, and before she settled in, I went to see her with a bottle of wine.

I told her it was a housewarming gift and a way to welcome her into the building. As I was leaving, I mentioned I could hear her conversations from my apartment. From that time, I haven’t heard her talking loudly.

While I could hear her talking on the phone now and then, it’s not as loud as it used to be. In fact, I can’t decipher what she is talking about.

If you are in such a situation, what should you do? Well, there are plenty of things you can do.

Talk to the loud neighbor.

You can borrow a leaf from my experience and go the civil way. Time your noisy neighbor when they are in a good mood and start a conversation.

If you are cordial and respectful, most people won’t have a problem making changes and keeping their voices low.

In fact, they will be ashamed that you can hear them talking and try as much as possible to keep their voices low the next time they are on the phone or talking with their family and friends.

Make them awkward

If you aren’t good at approaching things cordially or have tried approaching your neighbor respectfully, but they aren’t making any changes, try to curb the situation by making them awkward.

The next time you meet them, ask them personal questions about the last conversation you overhead.

For example, you can ask them, “feeling better? How is diarrhea?” or “did your husband/wife get their pants fixed after the accident?” when they give you a puzzled look, explain that you can hear everything they say.

As I said, few people will want strangers to hear their secrets, so the next time they are conversing, they will keep in mind that you can listen to them and will most likely keep it low.

Talk to the property manager.

One of my friends was able to quiet their noisy neighbor using their building manager. I was visiting him when we started hearing the upstairs neighbor shouting at the boyfriend or husband.

Apparently, the guy had brought a gun or drugs, and the lady wasn’t having it. The couple was so loud that you would think they were in the same room as us.

My friend placed his phone on the carpet floor in the middle of the living room and recorded the argument.

He then uploaded the recording to YouTube and emailed the link to the property manager. Shortly thereafter, the couple was evicted.

You can do the same. As your neighbor is talking, record them and send the recording to your property manager. Remember to make several recordings to show that loud talking isn’t a one-time thing.

Put on earplugs

If the noise isn’t too loud and you can block it using earplugs, don’t go through the trouble to start a conversation or make things awkward. Put on a pair of earplugs and go on with your activities in serenity.

You should buy a few cheap earplugs then put them on whenever you get in the house or when your neighbor starts talking.

Another way to block the noise is to wear headphones such as 3M headphones. You can also play slightly loud music to drown the talking.

Getting a white noise machine or fan has also been found to be highly effective, especially when the talking isn’t too loud.

Soundproof the ceiling

If you can hear your neighbors talking with the windows closed, chances are high your ceiling or walls are too thin, hence why the noise is coming in. To solve this, you should consider soundproofing the ceiling or wall.

If you are renting the apartment, talk to your property owner and see whether they can soundproof it for you. You have to soundproof the house yourself if you own it.

For the best outcome, work with experienced contractors that know what they are doing. You don’t want to spend money, yet you don’t block the noises you were looking to stop.