Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Region making far too much noise
North Lanarkshire had the highest number of noise complaints of any Scottish council, new research has shown.
Findings by Churchill Home Insurance discovered the region had a whopping 9100 of the 35,600 cases reported in Scotland between April 2020 and March 2021.
It was double the next highest total – 4002 in Aberdeen – while West Lothian (4600), South Lanarkshire (3600) and Falkirk (3600) also made the top five.
Glasgow came sixth with 3400 while Edinburgh ninth on the list, dropping down to 800 complaints – but West Dunbartonshire received no neighbour noise complaints in the last year at all.
Steven Williams, head of Churchill home insurance, said: “The pandemic has seen us confined to our homes which means we’ve probably all become very aware of noises around us.
“As we go into more of a ‘new normal’, many of us will carry on working from home, at least part of the time, so noisy neighbours will continue to be really disruptive.
“It may be the case that neighbours don’t realise they are being noisy, so the first step should always be speaking to them and explaining the problem.
“If that doesn’t work and they carry on, then keep a record of the type of noise and time of day and speak to your local council about raising a potential noise complaint.”
The survey also found neighbour noise had a negative impact on the mental health of more than a third of Scots (34 per cent).
More than two fifths (41 per cent) said they were more aware of their own noise now and a similar number (42 per cent) are also more aware of noisy neighbours now than before the pandemic.
Noise from neighbour’s children (36 per cent), neighbours having people over or having parties (33 per cent) and garden noise (32 per cent) were found to be the worst causes of poor mental health.
Psychologist Donna Dawson said: “The past 18 months have seen our behaviour change in so many ways.
“With most of us being limited to our homes on a daily basis, it is understandable that noise complaints have risen.
“Even small changes in sound can cause increased anxiety and stress for many people, especially if it disrupts home life and makes it difficult to relax, work or look after family.
“When subjected to ongoing noise that is out of your control, there are a few techniques which might help you cope.
“These include moving to another room if possible and using a distraction of your own, such as TV, music or radio; using earplugs to deaden the strength of the sound; taking deep breaths from your diaphragm on a slow count of 10 on both the inhale and exhale to relax yourself; and even trying some vigorous exercise, like jumping jacks, to burn off those stress hormones.
“It is always best to try speaking to a neighbour if you feel their noise is unreasonable, but do so when you are not feeling anxious or angry at the time.”