If there’s music with lyrics, I can’t think, work or have a conversation, especially if the words are clear… On a Zoom meeting, I can’t process what the other person is saying,” says Georgia Bondy, who has MS.
The 29-year-old, who runs a disability support company, has found she’s increasing sensitive to noise since her diagnosis in 2021, particularly music and the sound of construction. “When you have MS, small stimuli are physically painful; drilling and bashing are especially bad... The pain is like someone screaming or nails on a chalk board. All construction works feels like that to me.”
On the Walthamstow street where Bondy lives in a four-bedroom terrace, there are currently two neighbours having renovation work done and it’s left her with migraine-like symptoms. “If there are loud noises just as I’m waking up, I get really overwhelmed and often just start crying… Migraines stick, and I feel like that for the rest of the day.”
Bondy is not alone. Noise is a major factor for many Londoners. In the financial year 2023-4, Kensington & Chelsea, one of the few councils to have a dedicated noise complaints service, received 2,685 calls about loud music, 28.2 per cent of the total 9,507 complaints they received, followed by 1,889 calls about building site noise and 1,010 complaints about parties. Other noise sources complained about included alarms, air-conditioning plants, footsteps, shouting and dogs barking, while 155 people complained about buskers and one person took issue with the city’s bells.
“People are spending more time at home than ever before, noticing everyday noises that wouldn’t have previously bothered them, so it’s a much bigger issue than it used to be,” says Jo Eccles, founder of buying agency Eccord. “Even something relatively minor, like appliance noise, is suddenly an issue if you’re trying to conduct a Zoom call from the kitchen table.”
While loud noises previously irritated Bondy, they didn’t have the effect they do now. “I know that this is my body. Before I was diagnosed, it wasn’t an issue in the same way. It may have just made me grumpy… [Now], if a car alarm goes off, I need to stop working and that doesn’t happen with the people I live with.” She understands that people need to do construction, but says: “As people who live on top of each other, it makes sense to be a nice human. It makes sense to tell your neighbours if you are doing construction, to be genuinely kind and help people who are disabled.”
Bondy rents her home with her two partners so is unable to install sound proofing to improve things, and increasing her tolerance to noise isn’t an option either. “There are many different health conditions that affect your nerves and sound sensitivity… [It’s] not something that’s possible with MS.”
She also can’t live in a quieter area because her disability means she needs to be near a station, often located in the noisiest parts of town, and living outside London isn’t possible either: “I’m black and, when I go to rural areas, people stare at me. I wouldn’t want to live that, so I’m tied to cities because they are diverse places. We make this world to be as inclusive or exclusive as we want society to be. I’m of the opinion if we can make the world more inclusive, then we should.”
Noise lovers
At the other end of the spectrum are those who thrive on the noise that comes from living in London. “One bachelor client of ours, who ran a tech company, asked us to find him a party pad where he could make as much noise as he wanted and not have to worry about disturbing the neighbours,” says Eccles. “We found him a flat above a commercial space off the New Kings Road with just one neighbour. We introduced them prior to the purchase, and they really hit it off. After our client bought the property, they became good friends and regularly opened up their flats for joint parties!”
Polly Arrowsmith, 57, who works in marketing, is also firmly in this camp. “I love the sound of London; it makes me feel alive, and there is a certain buzz about it.” She previously lived opposite Barnard Park in Islington, which is regularly hired out by fairs playing loud music, TV production crews and for “EID prayers, that use loudspeakers as hundreds of people join, starting from 8am”. There were also people riding motorcycles, packed summer BBQs, two adventure playgrounds, children’s football matches and air ambulances landing on the large grassy area. “Many neighbours complained about sound travel and wrote to the local paper. I always wrote [back] with the counterargument that I bought the house knowing it would be noisy at times, and that the road was busy. I was perfectly OK with the noise, and I loved that the park was used regularly by so many people and so full of life.”
Arrowsmith was deaf until the age of five, when she had two major operations that gave her hearing, and has appreciated sound and noise ever since. “I consider my hearing to be my greatest gift,” she says. “My hearing is very good, better than most people’s. I would rather hear the noise than anything else. Being able to hear is a huge bonus, no matter what it is.” She now lives near the Regents Canal and misses the cacophony outside her previous home. “When we moved, I missed the park and the sounds of life. The quietness was eerie at times… We have the Narrow Boat Pub, The Island Queen Pub and a canal cafe, so, to get my fix of people, I just go along the canal, or into my garden. Recently I heard music, front and back of the house — it was Morris dancers outside each of the pubs. I thought about how wonderful it was to be in Zone 1 and to hear and see such an upbeat event.”
However, there are some types of noise that even Arrowsmith finds irritating. “I live next door to an art gallery, and so they drill about one in every six weeks. We also have refurbishment works going on. If you’re trying to relax in the garden, it can be a bit annoying. However, I just laugh and come indoors.”
Arrowsmith does understand those who find the noise of London difficult to deal with. “I have a primary school around the corner, which I don’t mind, but others may… I can see their point of view; London is a love/hate place. Luckily, I love it. There are quiet enclaves in London; you just seek them out.”
These quiet spots are highly sought after and often come with a hefty price tag, but they aren’t as rare as you’d expect.
“The surprise is that it is easier to find tranquillity in London than most may think; garden squares, proximity to parks and historic residential enclaves — there are opportunities throughout prime central London to find peace and tranquillity, yet retain the proximity and convenience of city living,” says Matthew Morton-Smith at Tedworth Property.
If you love a property but are worried about noise, there are also things that can be done. “Many tenants explicitly seek properties that offer state-of-the-art soundproofing to ensure a peaceful living environment,” says Kate Flynn of property management company Rhodium. “This includes everything from soundproof windows and walls to the strategic placement of rooms to minimize noise disturbance.”
“We find that clients are willing to invest not only in understanding noise but in getting rid of it. For example, noise surveys and assessments are regularly carried out for our clients,” says Trevor Kearney of The Private Office: Real Estate. “As a result, we’ve seen momentum grow for services such as acoustic fencing.”
Andrew Parkin, Global Head of Acoustics at Cundall, is an expert in all things noise-related. “Sound is like water: it will always find small holes and leak through. Sound will also bleed through weaknesses in walls and floors (such as where pipes are cut through floors, poor mortar joints etc.)” He advises against buying off-the-shelf solutions which often don’t work, suggesting instead a sound acoustic insulation test, carried out by a professional acoustician which will highlight any specific weaknesses.
“Solutions can then be explored that address the issues found; these may be as simple as blocking up holes in walls and floors, or could involve re-lining walls with a plasterboard-based system, overlaying a floor with a composite system of chipboard and resilient layers or installing a new heavyweight ceiling.” He warns, however, that this may be expensive and take up valuable headroom and floor space.
If you know that you’re particularly sensitive to noise, Parkin advises finding properties built in the last 30 years. “It is important to realise that, in the UK, there is a robust planning and building control process,” he says. “During planning stages, external noise levels need to be taken into account in the design of a residential building which results in windows and ventilation being designed accordingly so that residents can have relative quiet in their bedrooms and living rooms, even when it’s hot outside.”
Historic buildings converted for residential use within the last 30 years should be subject to a similar level (albeit slightly lower) of sound insulation but “conversions that took place a long time ago are often pretty awful, having very poor levels of sound insulation and internal noise levels”. In some cases, such as with listed buildings, the required level of sound insulation might not be able to be achieved.
But Parkin flags that, whatever the building, there’s only so much that sound proofing can do. “Personality type and neurodiversity have a big part to play in emotional response to sound — that’s where the very definition of ‘noise’ comes from, it is a negative response to sound. One person’s noise is another person’s music.”
Noise tolerance
Dr Tom Garner, Senior Lecturer of Interactive Technologies at Sheffield Hallam University, agrees but says, biologically, we listen to soundwaves in much the same way; the difference comes in how we perceive those sounds. “Our personal histories and expectations, whether we are musically trained or professional sound engineers, or of course, our preferences, all impact how sound affects us.”
Garner also flags how illness affects our noise tolerance, with Autistic Spectrum Condition and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder being among the most common. “This is a perceptual effect rather than a physical one, meaning sounds are not physically damaging to hearing, but they will evoke very real feelings of pain, discomfort, or elevated anxiety.” Hisown research has found that tolerance to noise changes throughout our lives and women’s hearing becomes temporarily less sensitive while they are pregnant and during the menopause due to hormone changes.
The good news for those suffering from sensitive hearing is that we become less sensitive to noise as we get older but, because of this, Garner advises against trying to increase noise tolerance levels. “Many everyday sounds, such as road traffic, construction works, and sound playing through loudspeakers can have a cumulative damaging effect on the ears,” he says. “That said, noises below 85 decibels that people find uncomfortable are psychological intolerances… Identify specific sounds that you find uncomfortable and look for ways to experience them at a reduced volume or for very short periods of time. Then, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your exposure as you become more comfortable.”
If the noise of London is getting on your nerves, Bondy says it’s about finding a compromise. “I’m a great fan of having a chat with neighbours. I once threw a paper aeroplane across the garden and said it was nice they were having a fun BBQ, but could they turn the music down to help my headache? And they did.”
