John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

I am redoing my below-grade basement (and using a room-in-a-room design that gullfo was kind enough to help me with!). The basement has several small windows at ground level.

I am cursed, as many of you probably are, with extremely sensitive hearing in the low frequency range. In this house, I pick up 26hz an incredibly disturbing amount of the time (I suspect it's from the power plant about a mile away). Road noise from blocks away comes through no problem. (If any of you hear "The Hum", so do I.) My question is, what steps can I take to isolate the basement from those very low frequencies? The windows don't open, and if it will yield a higher likelihood of success, I would consider getting rid of them altogether.

I'll be candid: low frequency noise has put incredible strain on my life and relationship. I am willing to go to insane measures if need be. I would greatly appreciate any advice.

We are using R30 insulation and hat channeling, and planning on using Green Glue for sealing/drywall. Might we benefit from also adding MLV to the walls while we still have them open? A lead sheet in the window opening?

Thank you in advance

you could try blocking the windows with some layers of plywood to see what effect it has. if it's structural transfer though, you'd likely have to float an internal room to significantly reduce the LF in that range.

Thanks again Glenn

Have you tested your hearing? Wax Build up? Are you hearing while standing or when your head is in contact with a pillow or back of the chair? We hoomans are usually really deaf to low frequencies.

DanDan wrote:Have you tested your hearing? Wax Build up? Are you hearing while standing or when your head is in contact with a pillow or back of the chair? We hoomans are usually really deaf to low frequencies.

Unfortunately I have relentlessly tested everything. I hear it all the time when inside a resonating body (house, car, etc), whether standing or not. It's not wax build up, it's just extreme sensitivity to low frequency noise. This is a 4+ year plague for me, which I am very concerned will last for the rest of my life.

If you've not heard of the hum: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019 ... -pollution

Have you equipment which can detect these noises? I did have one client some years ago who was tormented by what appeared to be something like 4Hz. Nobody else could hear it, but it prevented him from sleeping.

DanDan wrote:Have you equipment which can detect these noises? I did have one client some years ago who was tormented by what appeared to be something like 4Hz. Nobody else could hear it, but it prevented him from sleeping.

I do. Apologies this image is so huge. I have hundreds of these screenshots taken across the last few years.