how to reduce low frequency sound coming from a waste treatment 300m away

Question

added 6 inch of rockwood insulation to attic , insulate bedroom outside walls with another 4 inch wall on top of existing ,insulation basement ceiling , nothing is working the low frequency sound still driving me nuts , help please.

Answer 1

Regrettably, this is not an easy DIY project.

While blocking high-frequency sounds with insulation is easy, blocking low frequency vibration can be done a few ways:

• Adding a noise barrier, either around the noise source or around your home
• Elastic isolation
• Adding mass to structures
• Active noise cancellation

Along highways, many locales have built large sound barriers. Some work by reflecting the noise back to the highway, others use acoustic interference in a pattern in the wall to reduce noise. Some companies making these are AcoustiGuard, Noise Barrier Walls and Sound Fighter Systems. This would be a large, expensive project for a home-owner, but you might convince your community to put a sound barrier around the waste-treatment plant, using the incentive that it would increase local property value.

Where sound and vibration reduction is essential, as in a semiconductor fab, equipment or entire rooms may be supported by springs. That elastic isolation in of course not practical for a home.

Adding extra mass to walls, windows, ceiling and floor by putting in additional layers can help block sound. This is obviously expensive and takes a great amount of labor, but this might be the most practical DIY approach.

Active noise cancellation requires installing equipment to provide sound 180° out of phase with the noise, cancelling that noise in a limited area. For example, Bose, Harman and others make devices to lower noise level inside a car (and likely only effective at specific seating positions in the car). To make an office quieter, Zero Sound offers a "ZS Suppression Matrix ™", with multiple emitters providing cancellation over a larger region. Noise-cancellation for a whole room, much less the house, seems to be an expensive proposition.

You might also consider noise-cancelling headphones such as these at CNET or Rtings.com. Likely, they would not be comfortable for sleeping or use all day.

On the other hand, the house might be a good buy for someone with limited hearing, and you could move to a queiter location.