London, April 26 (Inditop.com) At least three million adults in Britain suffer from noisy neighbours but over 30 percent fail to take action, a study has said.
Neighbours’ loud voices and arguments accounted for the most disturbing noise (58 percent), followed by blaring music or television noise (40 percent), Which? Legal Service, which surveyed 2,131 adults aged 16 and over in the second week of April, has found.
At least 26 percent were disturbed by slamming of doors, while 15 percent suffered due to regular parties and three percent heard their neighbours having sex, the Independent reported Monday.
People stomping around, pets, noise from musical instruments and games also rated among the “most annoying neighbourly noises”, the report said.
Among those people who reported noisy neighbours, six in 10 lost sleep, while one in 10 saw their work or health affected.
Many others said the noises made them irritable, angry or stressed.
However, 36 percent made absolutely no effort to address the issue. Only a few spoke to their neighbours while just a handful contacted the local authority.
At least eight percent got into arguments with neighbours, while seven percent shifted their house from the area.
“Noisy neighbours can make life a misery, and our research shows that people are losing sleep, struggling at work and arguing with their partners, all because of disturbances from next door,” Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith was quoted as saying.
