best headphones noise cancelling 2012 image
anon
I am a sophomore in college and I live in the dorms downtown Chicago. My dorm is on the 8th floor of a high rise directly next to the L train. The train never stops running, so one passes by my window every 5-10 minutes 24 hours 7 days a week. This wakes me up every single time the train passes and I cannot sleep throughout the night. I have become exhausted and it is begining to show in my school work. I would like soundproof curtains so I can sleep easier, but I am a student and I can't afford them. Would my school/ dorm provide them if I asked? I lived in this building on a higher floor facing a different way and noise was not a problem so I know it is not just me being picky.
I also didn't choose what room I get to live in..
Answer
Perpetual sleep-deprivation can weaken your immune system, chip away at your physical and emotional strength, and have an impact on your school work. Loud, permeating noise can be very difficult to acclimate to, and many would struggle living next to the L train. It's not like you're dealing with the typical nuisances of a dorm environment. Unfortunately, soundproof curtains are not literally going to be soundproof. They will sponge up some of the sounds that trickle in from other rooms and outside, like conversations, music and TV playing at normal volumes, and the like, but are ineffective at meaningfully minimizing sound decibels as high as the L. The sound decibel level of the L train is probably around 100. A top-of-the-line, professional-quality, custom-fitted soundproofing curtain will often have a STC (Sound Transmission Class) of 35 at best. The type of noise-reducing curtains you'd find at a store like Bed, Bath, and Beyond usually only have a STC of around 5-10, so they would do very little to soak up the flood of noise in your room. We had them installed in my bedroom at home when there was a lengthy construction project going on next door, and I could still distinctly hear most of the sawing, hammering, and the like.
It's doubtful your housing office will pay for the curtains, but hopefully they might consider moving you to another room if one is available. If your school has a student health care center I would go and talk to someone about the physical and mental toll the incessant noise has caused. It's not a trivial matter.
Ask him or her to please write a letter on your behalf describing how the noise has adversely effected your overall wellbeing and ability to perform at your best as a student. Then submit that letter along with a polite letter of your own requesting a room change to the housing office. At this point in the quarter / semester the chance that another room you could move into is available is slim, so you'll probably have to stay put until at least winter break. If your school is like mine, many of the students will go on a study abroad next term, and will vacate their spots in their dorm rooms. This is how I scored an amazing room last spring. Ask the housing office if you could take one of those spots. I think this is something they'd be more willing to do than pay for curtains or other sound-reducing items.
In the meantime, try to get something that will create "white noise" to help counterbalance the sound of the L. An inexpensive box fan might help. You could turn it around to face the wall if it's too cold to have it blowing into the room. Noise-cancelling headphones would be great, but they're very pricey. The less expensive ones don't really diminish noise, and the ones that are better made have higher prices, like around $300. I wrote a blog this summer with other ideas for making your room quieter, though it might not be as helpful to you since you're dealing with exceptional noise: http://thesoultodare.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-get-some-quiet-in-dorm-room.html
I hope everything works out for you. There would be footprints on all my walls from me running up them if I had to deal with sounds of the L all day and night, so you have my sympathy and my best wishes.
~ skylark : )
Perpetual sleep-deprivation can weaken your immune system, chip away at your physical and emotional strength, and have an impact on your school work. Loud, permeating noise can be very difficult to acclimate to, and many would struggle living next to the L train. It's not like you're dealing with the typical nuisances of a dorm environment. Unfortunately, soundproof curtains are not literally going to be soundproof. They will sponge up some of the sounds that trickle in from other rooms and outside, like conversations, music and TV playing at normal volumes, and the like, but are ineffective at meaningfully minimizing sound decibels as high as the L. The sound decibel level of the L train is probably around 100. A top-of-the-line, professional-quality, custom-fitted soundproofing curtain will often have a STC (Sound Transmission Class) of 35 at best. The type of noise-reducing curtains you'd find at a store like Bed, Bath, and Beyond usually only have a STC of around 5-10, so they would do very little to soak up the flood of noise in your room. We had them installed in my bedroom at home when there was a lengthy construction project going on next door, and I could still distinctly hear most of the sawing, hammering, and the like.
It's doubtful your housing office will pay for the curtains, but hopefully they might consider moving you to another room if one is available. If your school has a student health care center I would go and talk to someone about the physical and mental toll the incessant noise has caused. It's not a trivial matter.
Ask him or her to please write a letter on your behalf describing how the noise has adversely effected your overall wellbeing and ability to perform at your best as a student. Then submit that letter along with a polite letter of your own requesting a room change to the housing office. At this point in the quarter / semester the chance that another room you could move into is available is slim, so you'll probably have to stay put until at least winter break. If your school is like mine, many of the students will go on a study abroad next term, and will vacate their spots in their dorm rooms. This is how I scored an amazing room last spring. Ask the housing office if you could take one of those spots. I think this is something they'd be more willing to do than pay for curtains or other sound-reducing items.
In the meantime, try to get something that will create "white noise" to help counterbalance the sound of the L. An inexpensive box fan might help. You could turn it around to face the wall if it's too cold to have it blowing into the room. Noise-cancelling headphones would be great, but they're very pricey. The less expensive ones don't really diminish noise, and the ones that are better made have higher prices, like around $300. I wrote a blog this summer with other ideas for making your room quieter, though it might not be as helpful to you since you're dealing with exceptional noise: http://thesoultodare.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-get-some-quiet-in-dorm-room.html
I hope everything works out for you. There would be footprints on all my walls from me running up them if I had to deal with sounds of the L all day and night, so you have my sympathy and my best wishes.
~ skylark : )
What should i buy my dad for christmas?
krosegirl
He loves his car (black dodge challenger) i was thinking about getting him somthing to do with that. Not too expensive tho
Answer
How about any of these to think about. You don't have to get any of them as a gift IF you don't want to, but it might give you ideas or something comes to mind.
BOOKS
=======
Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy with Grant Blackwood
Locked On by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney
Threat Vector by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney (coming Dec. 4, 2012)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre
President's Secret Wars: CIA and Pentagon Covert Operations since World War II Through The Persian Gulf by John Prados
Inside the CIA: Revealing the Secrets of the World's Most Powerful Spy Agency by Ronald Kessler
The CIA's Black Ops: Covert Action, Foreign Policy and Democracy by John Jacob Nutter
MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service by Stephen Dorril
Delta Force: The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit by Charlie A. Beckwith and Donald Knox
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen With Kevin Maurer
Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom by B.K.S. Iyengar, John J. Evans and Douglas Abrams
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
The Illustrated A Brief History of Time / The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking
The Art and Craft of Coffee: An Enthusiast's Guide to Selecting, Roasting, and Brewing Exquisite Coffee by Kevin Sinnott
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich
Zen and the Art of Poker: Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Game
Double or Nothing: How Two Friends Risked It All to Buy One of Las Vegas' Legendary Casinos
by Tom Breitling with Cal Fussman,
The War at the Shore: Donald Trump, Steve Wynn, and the Epic War to Save Atlantic City by Richard D. Bronson
Leisureguy's Guide to Gourmet Shaving - Fifth Edition: Shaving Made Enjoyable by Michael Ham
Bugatti Veyron: A Quest for Perfection - The Story of the Greatest Car in the World by Martin Roach
DVD/BLU-RAYS
==============
Le Mans
Planet Earth
Life
Human Planet
Frozen Planet
Top Gear (any one or two of the seasons, there are 15 seasons so far)
Reilly - Ace of Spies
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy(BBC miniseries and/or the movie version)
Smiley's People(BBC miniseries)
A Perfect Spy(BBC miniseries)
Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas - A New Day
American
How about any of these to think about. You don't have to get any of them as a gift IF you don't want to, but it might give you ideas or something comes to mind.
BOOKS
=======
Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy with Grant Blackwood
Locked On by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney
Threat Vector by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney (coming Dec. 4, 2012)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre
President's Secret Wars: CIA and Pentagon Covert Operations since World War II Through The Persian Gulf by John Prados
Inside the CIA: Revealing the Secrets of the World's Most Powerful Spy Agency by Ronald Kessler
The CIA's Black Ops: Covert Action, Foreign Policy and Democracy by John Jacob Nutter
MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service by Stephen Dorril
Delta Force: The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit by Charlie A. Beckwith and Donald Knox
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen With Kevin Maurer
Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom by B.K.S. Iyengar, John J. Evans and Douglas Abrams
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
The Illustrated A Brief History of Time / The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking
The Art and Craft of Coffee: An Enthusiast's Guide to Selecting, Roasting, and Brewing Exquisite Coffee by Kevin Sinnott
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich
Zen and the Art of Poker: Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Game
Double or Nothing: How Two Friends Risked It All to Buy One of Las Vegas' Legendary Casinos
by Tom Breitling with Cal Fussman,
The War at the Shore: Donald Trump, Steve Wynn, and the Epic War to Save Atlantic City by Richard D. Bronson
Leisureguy's Guide to Gourmet Shaving - Fifth Edition: Shaving Made Enjoyable by Michael Ham
Bugatti Veyron: A Quest for Perfection - The Story of the Greatest Car in the World by Martin Roach
DVD/BLU-RAYS
==============
Le Mans
Planet Earth
Life
Human Planet
Frozen Planet
Top Gear (any one or two of the seasons, there are 15 seasons so far)
Reilly - Ace of Spies
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy(BBC miniseries and/or the movie version)
Smiley's People(BBC miniseries)
A Perfect Spy(BBC miniseries)
Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas - A New Day
American
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