Looking for products or methods to help balance/cancel the noise coming into a NYC apartment from the street. Ideas?

Question

xdudx · Answer

Blue Air Air Purefier: I run this in the background when I sleep and it does double duty: white noise + clean air. I have this basic one, no app required.

xdudx · Answer

Mack’s Ear Plugs: We had a neighbor that ran a chop shop under our bedroom window which has now forever made me an earplug-wearer when I sleep. These are the best bet; I’ve tried everything. They’re not 100% blocking but everything that says it is 100% cancelling is straight lying to you so don’t waste your money. Get the jug of ultra soft and switch them out whenever they get to gunky.

Adam · Answer

Lectro Fan: If all else fails: try an ‘Lectro fan. I’ve had mine for 15 years. Solidly built.

Adam · Answer

Sound dampening curtains: This is mostly a fruitless endeavor but you can dampen the sound a bit. These are pricey but I’ve had some success. It really depends on the pitch/tones you are dealing with.

Clara · Answer

Happy Ears Reusable Earplugs: I have these and find them to be extremely helpful with annoying ambient noise.

When I lived in the East Village I was right on 1 Av and did a big deep dive on noise-cancelling devices; something like this (which I have not tried myself, so can’t vouch for personally - and I’m also really unsure about cost, installation, etc.) does seem really intriguing to me.