Man plays whale sounds to drown out neighbor's 'nightly activities.' AITA? UPDATED
"AITA for playing whale mating calls to drown out my neighbor’s very loud nightly 'activities?'"
So, I (45m) live in an apartment complex where the walls are basically made of tissue paper. My neighbor (27f)—let’s call her Tanya—has a very active love life. And by active, I mean every single night at 10 PM, she and her partner engage in some of the loudest, most over-the-top stuff you can imagine. I’m talking screaming, thumping, and bed frame squeaking etc.
It’s not just occasional; it’s a ritual. Like, clockwork, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Now, I’m no prude. People are free to live their lives, but this noise is so intense that it drowns out my TV, music, and noise-canceling headphones.
I’ve tried knocking on the wall, leaving notes, and even politely mentioning it in passing, but Tanya just laughs it off like it’s no big deal. “We’re just having fun!” she says. Yeah, okay, but do you need to announce it to the world?
After weeks of this, I decided enough was enough. But instead of going to the landlord, I decided to fight noise with noise. I went online and found a playlist of whale mating calls and hooked up my speakers right next to the wall we share. As soon as their night begins, I start blasting these deep, haunting whale sounds at full volume.
The sounds and thumping are still there, but now it's accompanied by the eerie whale sounds. Honestly, it’s kind of a surreal experience. I even grew to find these sounds relaxing, the screaming in the backround doesn't bother me that much anymore. I fall asleep easily.
Tanya came over the other day, looking super annoyed, and asked, “What the hell is that noise? It’s creepy and totally messing up our vibe!” I calmly told her that I was trying to create a calming atmosphere in my apartment and that the whale sounds help me relax. She didn’t seem convinced and stormed off.
She recently threatened to get the landlord involved though. So, AITA for using whale mating calls to drown out my neighbor’s very loud love life?
UPDATE:
She came over and I expected anything but this to be honest... She said that she won't be involving the landlord anymore, since she started to like the whale sounds. Apparently, I accidentally conditioned her and her boyfriend to get turned on by whale mate calls by playing them everytime they were shaboinking.
Now I'm glad to say that the issue is resolved and we're all satisfied! I can get my good night's sleep with my calming whale sounds and they can have a nice night as well.
She admitted that the idea of someone hearing them together turned them on, but apologized for involving me in this without me wanting it. I told her that it's okay, and now we're all cool. She even brought me chocolate cookies as an extra apology!
Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:
Trashmouths said:
NTA but you shouldn't let her beat you to talking to the landlord. She'll probably have already made up a ton of stories to make you seem less credible. Go talk to your landlord.
Housing-Spirited said:
NTA it's hilarious. I had a similar thing happening when I was a teenager. My next door neighbor would have her bf over after school while her parents weren’t home and would be so loud I could hear it across the condo (through 3 rooms) so I would blast the Violent Femmes up to their wall. Wish I thought of animal mating calls.
Ornery-Platypus-1 said:
NTA, and I like your style. Well played. Another option would be some old nature film highlight tracks, at full volume. Bonus if you can find a clip where the narrator is describing hyena mating rituals.
Apart-Taro624 said:
NTA mix in some baby shark if you feel naughty.
KickOk5591 said:
NTA, go to your landlord to complain about her threatening you because you wanted to listen to whales.
maroongrad said:
NTA in the slightest but record what she's doing. Better yet, any chance you can throw a party, have some friends over late for pizza and watching a game/movie marathon? I think a group round of applause is in order.