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EMH1969 · Joined: 27 May 2007 Posts: 38

I've seen a lot of discussion in the Mexico forum about noise issues. I was originally thinking about heading to Mexico but the possibility of excessive noise at night and in the mornings worries me (I'm a very light sleeper and there's only so much a fan and earplugs can do).

I'm curious about whether the noise issue exists in other Latin American countries. If so, is it better or worse than Mexico? Are there parts of Latin America that are more on the quiet side?

Thanks,

Ed

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Depends on where you live, even in the same city. We've lived in three places in Lima, two were loud since they were close to busy roads, now this one is so quiet.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Ditto. I live in Mexico City...can't hear a peep where I am now in an apartment in a central area. Garbage and gas trucks are probably the loudest things in my area, but not early morning.

If you lived on a busy thoroughfare, you'd expect traffic noises. Maybe the same in an industrial area. Or live over top of a bar?

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

I lived in a residential area in Peru. Normally it was quiet, until one of the neighbors decided to throw a party... House parties could be heard a loooooong way away, into the wee hours of the morning.

d

misterbrownpants · Joined: 04 Apr 2004 Posts: 70

what about the motos? oh god! i dont think they have ever heard of mufflers or whatever they are called down here in uruguay!!! is it the same in other countries>
and the gas trucks! my goodness! is it really REALLY necessary to play christmas music (the irritating kind) so darn early in the am???? i mean COME ON people! Smile

luckily i live in a small beach town and dont have to deal with much of this...

lozwich · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 1536

Car horns drive me mad here. Most of the time its just so unnecessary for people to lean on their horn (can I say that??? Twisted Evil

) when the traffic isn't going anywhere. Its not going to speed anything up.

danielita · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 281 Location: SLP

I'm reading this while a car alarm is going off after a night of fireworks outside my house. Laughing

Yep, I live in the noisy part of town, but I knew that because I am wedged between the two main streets in the centre of town. It's noisy, but now I am used to it. I agree with Guy and Naturegirl, it really all depends where you live in the city. I have friends that live in a suburb and they hear nothing at night. Of course they have to drive downtown to go to the market, so it's a bit of a trade off, but it works for them. Ask your colleagues about the quieter parts of town and they might be able to help you out..

D

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I used to live on a street with two major tram lines in Prague, but because the bedroom of our apartment was on a courtyard, there was absolutely NO sound except the twitter of morning birds. Honestly, I could wake up thinking I was on some solitary rural farm... it was really amazing.

Ok, one night a neighbor decided to try playing trombone at 4 am, and I suppose it was the first time he'd ever tried playing the thing... but it happened only the once and so it was really just funny. Shocked

I think I'd find the noise level in lots of southern cities annoying. I can relate to the problem.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

I remember reading of a study done on average decibel levels in cities around the world. Madrid came in a solid first, followed by some Brazilian city. Can't remember the rankings other than Latin cities being well-represented.

I was surprised by how loud Havana was...a lot of people yelling at each other, but not angry yelling. Just loud Cubans I guess.

notamiss · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:32 am Post subject: Earplugs saved me

Not all earplugs are alike. The secret is those little slow-release foam earplugs that you roll up and the material sort of sticks to itself and they become narrow. Then you insert them and within a few seconds they expand back to their original diameter and fill your ear canal.

They have this kind of ear plug in Mexico, too, now. I've seen them for sale in Sanborns.

Since I discovered them, I sleep much better when our neighbourhood has their pilgrimage-to-Chalma party or the fiesta del pueblo. Instead of having to sleep in the closet on the side of the house farthest away from the party with two pillows over my head, I just put in the plugs and sleep happy.

lozwich · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 1536

I think if you were to go the earplug route, it would be a good idea to get disposable ones. There's that old chestnut about not putting anything in your ear smaller than your elbow, and it could potentially be nasty to get an ear infection from re-useable earplugs.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

EMH1969 · Joined: 27 May 2007 Posts: 38

Thanks for all the great info! I've been using earplugs for about 20 years now (my first roommate in college weighed about 300 pounds and snored) so I'm fairly familiar with them. The type that seems to work best for me, unfortunately, has a tendency to hurt my ear canals. So I don't use them often.

Anyway, here's an interesting review of earplugs, though it's just one person's opinion.

http://slate.com/id/2118800/

pirateinpanama · Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 93 Location: Panama City, Panama

Their love affair with car horns is just CRAZZZZY!
Mad

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:31 pm Post subject:

I always thought that the point of the old saying was to remind the young'uns not to put anything in their ears at all...

As a veteran teacher of small children, I can safely say that it's a good idea to make them aware of this. When things get stuck in ears and noses, it isn't pretty.

Best,
Justin