Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Block Noise In a Dorm?
First time accepted submitter zmitch32 writes "I live in a dorm, and I have ADHD, so every little noise distracts me. I know this annoyance isn't limited to those with ADHD, so how does everyone else block out the noise? I can't really cover my walls in soundproof foam because I live in a dorm. I can't just listen to music because I find it too interesting and just end up getting distracted by it. I use ear plugs to block out small noises, but they don't block out human voices very well at all. What do you guys/gals recommend?"
... and Phish tapestries.
No reason you can't put up foam and cover it with... Pink Floyd and Phish tapestries.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Get a pair of noise canceling headphones. You don't even need an audio source, just some batteries to run them. A good pair of those will give you dead silence in all but the noisiest environments.
Use headphones with whitenoise. Something like a waterfall
http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-H10A-Optime-Earmuff/dp/B00009LI4K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363305602&sr=8-2&keywords=peltor
I use them at work and to shoot guns. Comfortable and effective.
http://simplynoise.com - Try Brown Noise.
EAR PLUGS
What types of music have you tried listening to? I find that listening to classical music, or music in a language in which I'm not fluent is very effective.
find earplugs with a better db rating that can block human voices...
Smoke weed. Lots and lots of weed.
Use music with no lyrics. Words are the main distracting component of music. I've used Buckethead tunes when I've needed to drown out everything else. Moby has some good stuff too. Classical... there is a lot of variety.
Just don't fuck up your ears with excessive volume. Seriously.
Give away your ADHD. Problem solved.
as the subject says, if 'soundproof foam' existed folks building recording studios, vocal booths, practice rooms and so on would have a lot less issues!
As somebody that is also easily annoyed by noises and especially by people talking, the only things I can suggest are noise isolation headphones and a suitable source of noise (pink noise or something like raindrops, running water, etc.), the noise isolation headphones to lower the outside noise as much as possible, and the pink noise to mask it (otherwise you'd have to have the volume in your headphones way too loud).
You will find that pink noise or water noise masks voices pretty well if in tandem with the above, I sometimes even have to use isolation headphones (similar to the headphones that pit crews use on racing tracks) AND foam earplugs AND http://rain.simplynoise.com/ (with thunder disabled) to be able to concentrate in my current work environment.
-- the cake is a lie
You don't need two ears!
use a white noise generator
something like this http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-Dohm-DS-Speed-Sound-Conditioner/dp/B000KUHFGM
Works for me.
With whatever you're doing, silently use your internal somatic voice processing system in your brain to process the audio of counting from one to ten (basically process it as if you were going to say it, just never move your mouth). When it combines with whatever else you're doing, it will use up all that part of your brain's resources and you won't be able to hear/process any sounds around you. It's a technique that I learned very quickly when learning to speed read. It works very, very well.
I expect you fall asleep when you get tired. So why not exercise so you get tired quicker? Or you could try sounds that are less interesting than music. In the summer I like the noise of my cieling fan.
When I'm trying to study at home I find that listening to white noise works well.
(A white noise generator on a laptop/pc)
It masks the noises the family make pretty well.
Best done with a pair of headphones that actually surround the ear rather than earbuds.
Noise cancelling headphones might help filter out some of the distractions too.
Its far from perfect, but it works for me.
(I have a pair of Phillips noise cancelling earbuds... and I'd have to say that they are a waste of time and money. There is no perceivable difference when noise cancellation is activated. Other brands might fare better,I dont know. My experience with these has been poor.)
Move. I mean that seriously. Not all dorms are alike, and chances are there is a quieter room available. You will have to approach your student services office or similar about your situation, and bring documentation. They may not be able to accommodate you entirely but they may find some arrangement that would be of benefit. For example, they may make a triple in a quiet dorm into a double with a known-quiet roommate.
If you want further information, give us the name of the school. Maybe someone here knows about a quieter dorm on your campus.
Drink a lot. It makes me sleepy every night.
CAPTCHA: swerve
I don't think it's possible to block all the noise in a dorm unless you have designated quiet dorms.
One of the primary benefits of living in a dorm is the social environment. You either need to be prepared to enjoy living in close quarters with lots of young adults, or you should move out. Both are perfectly valid options, and your own predispositions will play a large role in succeeding with either choice.
It's OK to be annoyed by living in close quarters with lots of other people that don't know how to conduct themselves now that they're living on their own. You almost assuredly annoy them too.
... such as thick, vinyl sheets. Lead sheets are too dangerous, and expensive.
Vinyl works significantly better than any kind of foam.
I believe that sound proofing wood composite panels are available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They are cheaper, but they aren't as good at blocking sound as heavy vinyl.
Or, just tell your neighbors in a creepy way that you can hear their conversations and that you can always tell "hear" they are positioned in their dorm room.
I don't have ADHD, but I do have High Functioning Autism, and I had the same problem in college, even though I wasn't diagnosed yet (and wouldn't be for another 10 years).
The two solutions for me: A white noise generator to drown out the sound next door, and a "mix tape" of my most boring songs for when I couldn't stand the white noise anymore. Would be a playlist without shuffle now, of course, but MP3 players didn't exist when I was in college. Once your brain gets used to the order of songs, say about the 100th repetition or so, you can tune them out.
Another equally good option today that did not exist when I was in college is noise-canceling headphones.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
I used to always play music at low volume in the background. Too quiet can be bad too because your mind starts looking for noise. Easy to dismiss background noise was the best for me.
Good noise canceling headphones are expensive. Another, cheaper, alternative is to get a white noise generator. I know some people who swear by it. Personally I find it distracting, but each to their own.
In the future I guess it will be just a matter of switching on an active noise control device to make your room silent, but since so far the technology is only easily applied to headphones, how about a nice pair of those? You don't have to listen to music. You just have to find a pair that is very comfortable to wear and then play whatever low-volume sounds of nature (since silence on noise canceling headphones feels weird for some people).
If you don't like the idea, I would also try different earplugs. I mean during my army training they gave us these very inexpensive earplugs (like foamy rubber you would squish into your ear) for the shooting field and the commander would then be yelling commands on the loudspeaker as loud as he could and yet his voice barely registered! The actual 7.62mm shots were audible of course, but definitely tolerable. So give it another go with earplugs - soundproofing a room is much, much harder and can be very expensive.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
First (cheapest) option is to look for triple-flange earplugs. Look at a sporting goods store in the firearms department.
If that doesn't work for you, look into getting custom molded plugs made. I have a set from my time as a competitive shooter, and when they are in, and correctly seated, I cannot hear ANYTHING, even though I can feel the noise in many cases. For voices and random dorm noise, that should be sufficient.
Another option is a set of noise canceling headphones. Just don't feed them any input and they will still reduce ambient noise. I would recommend you borrow a set from a friend before investing, as the best are "over the ear" types, and they tend to create a sensation of pressure in your ears. Some folks find that uncomfortable.
Hope this helps......
Red (retired Field Artillery Officer)
Listen to a set of music until it's nearly worn-out, and use that as your noise-cancellation. For example, I have a set of ~700 songs that I've listened to almost daily for the last 5 years and I now know most of them down to the chord progressions. They've become so familiar that, while I still enjoy them, there's nothing 'new' there to distract me from work. This counts double for strictly instrumental songs, they provide even less distraction by lacking words to interpret and grab attention.
I imagine there'll be recommendations for things like noise cancelling headphones and such but I find they tend to make it worse; largely because they leave my mind too idle and I start looking around and get distracted again. Having the 'white noise music' keeps the wandering parts of my mind occupied so the rest of it can focus on the task at hand.
"Our goal each year should be to increase the number of goals we set for ourselves!"
I'm guessing by "music" you mean stuff with lyrics -- hence your comment about human voices. I have ADHD too and here's my advice.
My personal favorite for getting work done is Rodrigo y Gabriela's first album, but if you're not into that sort of thing, there's also classical, post-punk (Godspeed/Turtles), ambient (Brian Eno), orchestral video game music (Nobuo Uematsu) etc etc. If music fails, white noise may work but has the issue of your brain wanting to pay more attention to the noise you're trying to block out since what you're listening to is boring. A friend of mine also with ADHD loved to listen to fast-paced Celtic music when reading during college.
There's also noise-cancelling headphones.
-- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
Use http://simplynoise.com/ to drown out other noise.
Get some better quality earplugs.
http://coffitivity.com/
Plays coffee-shop-like background noise. Not intelligible enough to be distracting.
I use foam earplugs with Bose QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones which cover the entire ear (rather than just sitting on top of them). I then use a white noise app on my phone called SimplyNoise. It offers a few options for types of white noise; I find brown noise works the best. This combination blocked out three screaming babies on a recent overnight flight.
That said, why are you studying in the dorm if it's too noisy/distracting for you? Go to a library. With a little exploring, you will quickly find various cubby-holes where you will not see another soul for hours. You can also see what sort of meeting rooms are on your campus. These are typically hardly ever used outside of business hours in my experience.
I use both white noise, and ear plugs. Makes it a bit difficult to get comfortable at first. Be wary of heating up, make sure your room is cool.
Make sure you're using a good pair and wearing them correctly. These are very good, but a bit uncomfortable due to the dense foam and large size: http://www.howardleight.com/earplugs/max. You can buy them in bulk (200 pair) from amazon.
You need to roll them very tight, pull on your earlobe, and insert completely. If the insertion doesn't feel like you're being violated, you're probably doing it wrong Don't worry, they're safe; OSHA has researched the hell out of these things since they're intended for work sites. Just pull them out gently, rotating back and forth; the change in pressure could theoretically damage your eardrum, but I don't know if it has ever actually happened.
When I wear them correctly, human voices are almost completely squelched. And I don't mean "almost" as in "not really," I mean "almost" as in you won't notice someone calling your name unless they're shouting.
If you need to, you can further wear earmuffs or closed-ear headphones over them. If you can tolerate it, running pink noise through the headphones will further drown out signal.
If this isn't enough, you're basically screwed. Only low frequencies will get through, and those are the hardest to do anything about.
You can get custom ear plugs made to block specific noise types (voice, machine, etc.) They are made specifically for your ear canal and fit snugly.
If necessary, combine these with noise-cancelling headphones. This gives me silence on almost any airplane (except small propeller planes).
I'd answer that, but honestly, what are the odds that you are still reading this thread?
I'm sorry, that was terrible.
Loud fan..white noise generator..helps blanket...sorry, what was I saying?
I know the problem you describe well.
White noise (I actually prefer pink noise with a rolloff at higher frequencies) works well for me. Several people have posted links to mp3s of rain, surf and such.
I personally found that Tangerine Dream, Kitaro, and the like were quite good for studying and covering distractions, but it may vary for you or still be too distracting.
Perhaps in conjunction with noise cancelling headphones?
The only music i can listen to that increases my concentration is electronic/trance. Don't know why, but when i got that going my concentration is like a laser beam.
Buy the lots and lots of trains dvd set and learn all about trains. If you have ADHD you probably are slightly autistic as well.
"I use ear plugs to block out small noises, but they don't block out human voices very well at all."
Buy some better earplugs, the type used by construction workers that can be found at almost any home improvement store. I prefer the orange 3M tekk product that is good up to 32dBa isolation - around $12 for a package of 80 disposable foam earplugs and you can realistically use them more than once. I realize you are probably on a fixed budget in college, but we are talking about your sanity/sleep/well-being, right?
Do what everyone else who lives in a dorm does when they need quiet. Go to the library.
ADHD is simply a lack of discipline of the mind. This is not a real disorder. Focus.
Not trying to be nasty here but out in the work place your ability to regulate your environment may be limited so getting used to being able to focus when surrounded by people making noise will be a useful asset.
You can certainly get eggshell foam and attach it to your walls, not the prettiest thing, but as someone else mentioned you can cover it with tapestries/posters.
Unless its a fire code thing, if its just taped up to the walls you can remove it without damage to the walls.
I also have adhd and I can't stand noise that isn't made by me. It's so bad that I can't even be on a computer next to someone else because the sound of their typing makes it impossible for me to do things as simple as read text with full comprehension.
lots of good suggestions here, including maybe getting a different dorm. .. academics", i guess)
i think i recall there being a 'quiet' dorm at UCSC. ("live here if your main interest in being at college is
but mostly the suggestions seem to be either Block The Sound or Drown The Sound In Noise.
i'd highly recommend going for the former before the latter, for the kinda obvious reason of hearing damage.
i'm not an expert, but my tinnitus gives me a gut feeling that chronic exposure to even background-level noise can't be good for the cilia.
My feet get cold inside of my shoes... If only there was some kind of intermediatary layer that I could wear between my feet and my shoes... Anyone have any suggestions?
I live in New York, and there are always those maddening muffled voices, footsteps, TV, or sex noises happening somewhere nearby while I try to sleep/meditate/write/read/think. What works best for me is a fan with a nice hum. Easy to tune out, keeps the air flowing in your room, doesn't get repetitive.
http://www.amazon.com/MARPAC-Dohm-DS-Electro-Mechanical-Machine-Sleeping/dp/B002GTR902
Goofy but they work and are extremely reliable. They are especially good at masking talking and music.
I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
If you find music too distracting, just put the ear buds in and turn the device WAY up for a while. After a while you'll have completely destroyed your hearing. Problem solved! You're welcome!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Wow...the foam earplugs block out about 30 Db. If you can hear people through your walls/door, with earplugs in, these people must be talking pretty loudly...can you do your work in the library with earplugs in, and only sleep in your dorm room after the "quiet time" has started?
I solve it a number of ways.
1. Have a large HEPA air filter (a friend gave it to me) that I took the air filter out of and I run it to sleep well. The white noise this thing makes is natural soothing air flow, and it fills the room I am in.
2. At work, I use in-ear ear buds, the silicone ear peice combined with music or other sound greatly diminishes the external noise.
3. Motivation wise, I saw this problem affecting my children, and after I saw that my behavior (I expressed out loud that some sounds they made irritated me) then they started having similar problems. No. Way. In. Hell. Was I going to pass this on to them. So, I stopped expressing my irritation, and oddly, this made it easier to start facing the problem directly in my mind.
4. Mentally I started expecting certain noises and have made a goal to come to peace with them. I have tried really, really hard to be okay with certain sounds. At first it was incredibly agrivating and tremendously irritating on a level unexplainable to those that don't have this issue, but persistent work and effort to accept the noises has ultimately paid off, that they just hurt less now.
5. Diet, there are likely foods that irritate you and you may not know it, and this makes the sounds worse. (caffine makes it worse, etc...)
6. Sleep and exercise. This is the #1 thing, if I am tired, the noises are worse, even after all the things above. if I am stressed (exercise is _very_ relaxing after it's over) and I have little sleep, all the sounds invade my head like armageddon.
Take control, decide to live a healthy life style, control your mind and your body and this will help with this and many other issues.
I hope the best for you, and that you over come this difficult issue, I am 37 now and have been working against this for most of my life, and it only started to get better when I decided I could do something about (even when no one else thought it was possible).
Do not listen to people who will turn you into a victim, take control of your mind and start controlling your body, and everything in your life will look a little brighter, and the sounds will be not be so close to you anymore. You will be able to push them off and ignore them much easier.
play louder music.
Earphones playing white noise.
Cranky educator.
The best solution: Foam earplugs, the kind you can buy at a drugstore that are rated for 29 decibels (or something similar), that you wad up and stick well into your ear canal. Combined with a decent pair of headphones (ideally wireless) playing the sounds of a rainstorm.
Actually any white-noise-like sound will work, including actual white noise, a radio tuned to static, crashing waves, etc. For a month or two, I used the Fripp/Eno ambient tune "Wind On Water" playing on an endless loop. Watch your decibel levels-- it doesn't need to be played loud to work.
This setup will drown out the fucking zombie apocalypse.
It's weird, but I have ADHD too and this is the only way I can sleep (even when not in a dorm).
I sleep with a fan pointed towards my face or the back of my head.
The fan makes a constant rumble that is white noise and blocks everything out, and the flow of air puts me to sleep.
That's all you need. I use to keep my baby from waking up with any little noise.
Earplugs? neh... White noise? meh... Noise canceling? blah... I masturbated frequently when I was in high school and never had any problem sleeping. YMMV
If you want to shut absolutely everything out, get some high quality earmuffs (the kind they use at gun ranges) and wear earbuds (or earplugs) inside of them. Then start your playlist or get a white noise mp3 from amazon or wherever. A bomb could go off in your dorm and you probably wouldn't hear it. On the other hand you probably wouldn't be able to hear fire alarms or anything either, so use with caution...
i recommend you fuck off with this stupid shit. sound proofing material dumbass. fuck off. stupid article . lame slashdot.
I have the same problem at work, really noisy and chaotic at times. The sealed in ear headphones tend to work the best,
This site has a good comparison of noise isolation (note they also have the bose noise canceling listed, most of the in ear win out)
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/in-ear.php
I use these:
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/shure-se535.php
at work some one can be standing in front of me and talking and I cannot hear them when I have some music on, of course you can use white noise
Also you might also try to find some where else than your dorm room to study, where I went the College of Engineering had lots of places set up for students to study.
I don't mean to sound like a D***, but when I take my Meds, my abillity to read / do something difficult goes from ~0-5% to about 95%
I wasn't diagnosed until later in life, and it's a major "regret."
My biggest problem is remembering to take them, (and just as important) taking them early enough for them to be effective when I need focus, late enough so I'm not driving when coming down, and still early enough so I can sleep.
People rarely discuss the "Hyper ADD" that happens when the meds wear off, and I'm guessing you're studying late, and taking classes early? If you take your meds in the morning, there is no way you're going to be able to study at night... if that's the case, I suggest you find the right timing. I typically find lectures engaging, so using the medication then wouldn't be as important as when I have the book in front of me.
If you are medically unable, try sitting on an exercise ball when using headphones. I don't know why, but this for some reason helps people according to a study I read a while back, and it did seem to help me too, but I don't use them because I'm 6'0 260lbs, and I need a rather large ball to sit comfortably which is quite obnoxious.
YMMV, IANAD, & all other standard /. disclaimers apply.
-Paul
Self diagnosed or professionally diagnosed?
If your school anticipated the problem, you can find the solution. First, see if your dorm has a segregated study area. At the school I went to, that study area was in the basement, down the hall from the laundry room -- the idea was that you should start some clothes washing, study, dry, study, fold, and be done. The room was soundproofed...but the lack of echo and noise unnerved some people, but I loved it. Also, there was a lounge in my dorm where -- most of the time -- you could find peace and quiet. Other people suggested the library as a place to study. The solutions don't have to cost money.
Mostly I can just use Peltor 3M Tekk Protection on my ears. When combined with soft foam earplugs, this is high isolation.
When the noise is really intense, I use headphones playing loud pink noise over my ears with foam earplugs in my ears.
I designed the pink noise sound with Pure Data (puredata.info) and made an MP3. I like the noise to sound a little like rolling ocean waves.
They don't block all sound, but they deaden it enough so it can be easily ignored.
These also appear to be used by the Mythbusters.
I know that you were being trollish, but I actually have to agree. I didn't spend my time in the dorms except to sleep. My study time was spent down at I-Hop, or in the library. I did find it mildly annoying when somebody was yelling down the hallway, but you can get used to it.
Some days I get the sinking feeling Orwell was an optimist.
All you need is competing noise. Get a large fan and turn it up, most of the outside noises will be drowned out.
Also, a website like http://rainfor.me/ helps me a lot when I find myself wandering off into my thoughts.
If you listen to music and the voices are too distracting, just listen to good movie scores, classical soundtracks, or something orchestra based like http://open.spotify.com/user/1225153336/playlist/174h1jI74KgCR30U60E5Wt or http://open.spotify.com/user/1225153336/playlist/0zfVN0HOmVKz5CVDNWigXg. I find when I'm programming or studying, having complete silence is great. When I can't achieve that, then I need background white noise and voiceless music.
Just some thoughts based on what I've learned since attending College.
Don't be over protective of yourself. You can not isolate yourself from everything unless you are in solitary confinement. You have to learn to get used to them and become immune to them. It's like too much antibiotics makes you less immune to diseases. Go practice meditation.
I used classical music as a white noise generator. I can't concentrate when listening to music with lyrics, but I needed something to overwhelm the noise. The nice thing is that you get cultured in the process. You can get the 100 best works of ___ for relatively cheap.
earplugs and a fan. the earplugs block out a lot of noise, and are cheap. a fan may cost a little more, but not a lot, but it breaks up any remaining noise that can get through the ear plugs.
... yet no-one has suggested duct tape yet?
There's many ways duct tape can solve this. Some of them are probably even legal.
If switching to a better room isn't an option, your primary modes of attack are probably going to be the following:
1. generating white noise in your room;
2. blocking outside noise from entering your room;
3. finding times when noise isn't being generated.
For 1, simple devices like fans and air filters can be rather effective, instead of busting out the $$$ for a fancy white noise machine. During my dorm years, I actually had one song that I would play on repeat to block out other noises (I used Spybreak, by The Propellerheads, btw) for high focus thinking times. After the first few plays, I stopped noticing it was there at all.
For 2, buying some weatherstripping to put on your doorframe (should only be maybe $5 to get enough for the door). The space between the door and the frame lets in a considerable amount of noise. Installing a brush on the bottom of the door can also be quite helpful in this regard. Hanging fabric or leather on the inside of your door can also help dramatically. If your dorm isn't carpeted, find some cheap area rugs, and be sure to put one near the door.
For 3, depending on your schedule, try using the fact that very few college students wake up early. The hours between 5 and 8 am may wind up being an incredibly effective time for you, and getting yourself on an early schedule might wind up being quite helpful when you snag a job soon. It also makes for a pretty decent answer to the standard interview prompt, "tell me about a time you overcame a difficulty."
Depending on the atmosphere, talking to your neighbors about this might also be effective, but be careful not to do it in a way that will piss them off.
How about white (or pink) noise?
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Problem solved. You won't hear shit with this thing in your room with you.
Probably not a sensible idea, but I think I have often wonderd if a microphone an op-amp and a speaker could be employed to cancel out noise. Seems like it should work but the delay may just make it worse.
The circuit should be easy to but together though all you need is a a couple of resistors a decent modern op-amp (not a 741), somthing with a decent BW (~70dB) and a decent DR should do it. and a couple of a half decent resitors. the PSU may be more difficult you need to keep noise down and ensure you can push enough power to intefere with the original signal.
Concept is simple. If it will work it won't it will just make it worse. If it's slow it may just add to the amplitude of the sound.
Most Damage is done by people who are AWAKE
Binarual beats are humming sounds, which are played to your left and right ear in a slightly phased shifted manner. Some say it helps with concentration and mental alertness. Maybe, not sure. However, I did find that those sounds, if combined with a rain or other white-noise backdrop, really manage to drown out other sounds quite wonderfully. You can try some of them right in your browser: http://www.binauralbeatsbrain.com/Free-Binaural-Beats/ My favourite one is "Rain".
I never tried The Ramones for that, but I'm sure it would have worked well.
I found that cranking up Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor through a pair of 120 watt tube amps into some fairly efficient speakers was highly effective retaliation.
I'd worked at a loudspeaker manufacturer as a teen. I'd picked up some pretty impressive gear, and rarely lost a stereo war. :)
Rush's "Camera Eye" is also a great "neighbor be good" tune at high volume.
An old sweat sock in your roommate's mouth can reduce snoring. It either softens the snoring or will keep your roommate up at night in fear of you stuffing another old sock in his mouth thus allowing you to get some sleep.
It will never get better. You'll get to the point where you are taking way too much sleeping medicine just to get to sleep. Live off campus. Been there, done that for four years and it was hell on earth.
I work in an open office environment and have headphones I can use, but sometimes the little that trickles through despite the music (or perhaps I can't get worked up over the music) makes it impossible to work. For those occasions, I bust out Youtube and turn on the ten-hour versions of either Epic Sax Guy or Nyan Cat. It's so ridiculously monotonous and rhythmic that you'll soon forget it's there, and for those impromptu meetings that might tend to form around my desk turning it on on the speakers tends to scare them off.
I tried the same thing with the Star Wars Cantina Song, but it's way too diverse (and only caused me to hit the search bar so as to find the far superior and more hilarious Team America rendition). Needless to say, that wasn't so conducive to belting out code.
You're in college. Go have fun. Get out of your room.
MOVE THE FUCK OUT!
You could just set up cron to newtear/teardrop/nestea/etc the windows 98 boxes being used as juke boxes.. that worked quite effectively.
Get it done I after all booze sex is done.
When I was living in dorms, due to roommates and noise, I usually spent as little time in my room as possible. Work generally got done at the library. There is generally less to distract you there. If sleeping the issue, earplugs are a good solution. You can pick up packs of foam earplugs at most drugstores pretty easily.
what about a baseball bat?
You can dictate instructions, text, and the output you're typing/writing as you do it. You can think out loud. Listening to yourself does double duty: it focuses you on the work at hand and the sound of your own voice is like a loopback feed to your brain! Try it. Worked for me at crunch times.
Fill the room with breasts. Attached to beautiful coeds. You won't hear a thing.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
My grandfather would yell and get all worked up every time a truck would drive by his house using an engine brake. Mean while no one else paid attention to it or noticed it until he started yelling about it. Eventually everyone started noticing it knowing he was about to start bitching. The more you think about it, the more annoyed you get, the more it bothers you and the cycle feeds of itself. Easier said then done and I do not have ADHD so maybe I can not relate but just ignore it and don't let it bother you.
My uncle house was about 25 feet from a set of railroad tracks and there was a road crossing right there.
http://goo.gl/maps/NdhTn
Large freight trains would go by at all hours of the day and night blowing their horns and it did not bother them at all.
Get the sort of ear protection that people who work around power stations, airports and other places with ear-damaging levels of noise wear. If its good enough to block out the noise of a jet engine, it should be good enough to block out dorm room noise.
Buy this and move are the only things people have been suggesting. One guy did have interesting advice about the somatic voice processing center of the brain, but I can't believe not a single person has suggested that you leave your room, walk across campus and go to the freaking library. Need a computer? There are computer labs everywhere, too. Seriously, I thought this was one of the worst ask slasdots and expected half the answers to be "Go to the f-ing library". But no one?! let me say it then.
GO TO THE F-ING LIBRARY!
with her legs wrapped around my head. Try having your girlfriend hold what you need to read at her navel while you eat her out.
Suck all the air out of the room. Problem Solved!
46137
You can get custom earplugs molded by a specialist. Will be comfortable and block out much more.
My solution is to have a big stereo set and a huge collection of MP3s off all sorts (heavy metal, enka, classical, rock, bubblegum pop ...) and playing them loudly enough that I can't hear anything else.
You might be able to cover your door with carpet, over sized so that the door cracks are covered, and attached by two screws. Walls can be covered with very few holes in walls. Check with your dean about the modifications, you might have problems with fire code and non-commercial carpet.
Maybe you need to drop out of college and work at Mcdonalds if you can't deal with studying.
While I don't share your ADHD, I am easily disturbed by noise and sounds that most others are either unaware of or have the ability to ignore.
If you read a bit about sound propagation, it's clear that in any typical building you really only have two choices. 1) reduce at the source (make them talk quieter, turn down their awesome stereo), or 2) distance (move very far away from the source). If you are stuck in the room assigned to you in a dorm, neither option is available to you... the people suggesting "move away" are right, but I expect there are a bunch of factors on whether you can do that or not.
While Active Noise Cancelling headphones or earbuds are a comfortable way to greatly reduce lower pressure stuff like airplane cabin noise, they totally suck at people noise like the yammering and stereo wars of a dorm. They are also somewhat expensive if you want anything good.
Rubber earplugs generally don't do as good as foam earplugs, and the need to insert a foam earplug into the ear canal properly for it to be effective is offputting for some. But with a bit of practice it's not difficult.
If you want to seriously block your ears, though, you don't want the fluff sold in drug stores, department stores, etc. You want the real stuff used by people who work daily in hazardously loud environments. Someone mentioned a gun shooting range. Gear for that market is great against sharp, sudden noises - like gunshots - but not so great against e.g. voices as users are looking for something that saves their hearing against sudden sharp noises (*bang*) but allows them to hear warnings, commands, etc. Gear for the construction/factory workplace market is great against continuing noise (machinery) and as a byproduct works well against voices & music, and is what I'd suggest looking into. You can get passive protection fairly cheap, very sturdy and not a heart-breaker if it gets lost or stolen.
A $27 example
Look at the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of any product you consider. The higher the better. The example above is NRR 30, quite good. Combine the earmuffs above with some NRR 30 foam earplugs and you may as well be deaf.
Take Ritalin
This is how I dealt with the problem. If you combine both solutions, it'll be super quiet but I found just the headsets to be enough - usually:
1) Foam ear plugs:
1a) The foam earplugs have a trick. You have to roll them between your fingers so they become long and thin. Then put them into deep into your ear (not too deep). They'll expand and provide a good seal. Don't pull them out quickly because of the seal. It can hurt your ear drum. Pull them out slowly.
1b) Cost: Maybe 5 dollars.
1c) How to correctly put in foam earplugs. Can't just shove them in. They don't work that way.
1d) It says they're to be used only once. I use mine multiple times and put them in the case that usually comes with them. You can wash them if you want.
1e) Ear plugs from Bass Pro Shops. You can go to Dick's or whatever sporting goods store you'd like.
2) Shooting headsets: Put these over your ears after you put in your earplugs:
2a) Cost: Not too expense, like 30-50 dollars.
2b) http://www.basspro.com/Remington-M30-Earmuffs/product/26026/
2c) Amazon search
3) The best book on how to study I ever read: "College Study Skills" by Deanna L. Van Blerkom. Side note - When I was in school some *cough* years ago, this book was a fraction of the 2013 price. It is unreal how much they gouge students nowadays. Unreal. It was like 20 or 30 bucks back then, and like 110 bucks today. Unreal.
Don't go crazy with the headsets. They're a good investment but you don't need the microphones or anything else. Just get a basic set and save yourself some money. A high decibel rating from a reputable company. Look on Amazon for the reviews.
As far as noise goes, if you are rooming with someone you dislike or hate, your ADHD will cause you to zero in on any and all noises from said person. So just a reminder to not torture yourself and get another room. Older dorms, while hotter/colder/usually smaller, usually have thicker walls and are quieter. They also attract the older crowd, saving you noise in most instances. Mind you, a majority of older, sometimes newer, dorms are condemned for a good reason; yet are allowed to be used for various reasons.
A fan, fountain, noise generator can help; you can even get them for your computer for free/make your own. As for voices, the human mind is made to zoom in on those. Try to get used to noises by being in a crowded noisy area alot for awhile. Also remember that since you are in college, ALOT of otherwise decent people will MAGICALLY TRANSFORM INTO self involved, don't care about others premadonas. Think high school, with middle school maturity, turn it WAY UP, add booze, drugs, and group masturbation circles (yeah, my old college was a sausage fest).
Plants, something to make somewhat random noise(helps you from concentrating on hearing something), tapestries or wall hangings(better than posters, last longer too). Air flow is also a good thing too, cuts down BO and also generates safe noises. If you are social enough, try to get people who do loud sports, frisby, etc to meet and play in a location away from your dorm room. Just a reminder, NOTHING WILL HELP YOU, if you have a room by the main stairs, elevator, door to the dorms. NOTHING. Study in designated study area's, libraries(last bastians of quiet in AMERICAN society), and generally walking around will help too. The campus WILL BE QUIET when classes are mostly finished/done. Might not be a good idea if you have lots of security though.
Decades back I sat in a large egg shaped shell with a small opening with a padded interior you could sit in with stereo speakers in it.
Whether it was music or white noise, once you were in the chair almost all the extraneous noise in the room just disappeared.
Even someone speaking right in front of the opening was difficult to hear.
Get a set of in ear plugs and then put a set of over the head muffs on.
Alternately, combine the white noise with ear buds and over the head muffs. You'll find you can lower the volume considerably to make it more relaxing.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ostrich-pillow/ostrich-pillow
There are basically two ways airborne sound travels between two rooms: 1) air leaks between the rooms. 2) through a mechanism where the sound wiggles the wall surface on one side, which wiggles the surface on the other side and re-transmits the sound back into the air.
You can stop air leaks with attention to detail during construction - the partitions should go all the way up to the ceiling, and the floor and ceiling joints should be caulked. The only way to stop the second problem is making the wall more difficult to wiggle - or increasing it's mass. Most modern dormitories have moved away from concrete and concrete block construction which is much better at stopping sound to a gypsum wall board on metal stud construction, which is lighter and therefore transmits sound much better.
Unless you want to pour a new 6" concrete wall or line the room in thick lead, you are unlikely to be able to stop the sound transmission. Having maintenance seal the door and windows better may help if there is a leak problem. You can tell by listening around the door. If the sound is much louder near the bottom of the door than elsewhere in the room, you've found the leak.
The best way to approach this problem is to go to audiologist and get fitted for custom earplugs. They will make a mold of your ear and send it to a company like http://www.etymotic.com/hp/erme.html. You can select the filter up to a maximum of -25dB over a much more even bandwidth than cheap earplugs. It will likely solve the problem without introducing masking noise willy-nilly.
That being said, a loudspeaker playing white or pink noise could mask the problem, if you don't mind listening to it. I dislike constant noise, but that would be up to you.
If you're hearing "thumping" of footsteps or feeling the noise problem, that's a different ballgame: structure borne transmission. Buy your upstairs neighbors a thick rug so they don't impact the floor as hard or replace the ceiling with something more rigid...
I know you've already tried plugs, but try this. Go to a gun store or a well equipped department store. Buy a good set of plugs, the kind that form to your ears. *also* buy a set of earmuff style hearing protection as used by shooters. Wear the muffs over the plugs. Unless you get distracted by your own heartbeat or the sound of your tinnitus, that should do it for you.
Alternate solution: I have a pair of on-ear noise cancelling headphones. I observe that they work even when I'm not listening to music. That is, turn them on, and the surrounding noise is lessened. Although I haven't tried this, I'm suspecting that a good OVER-ear set might seriously reduce the ambient noise level.
But the first solution is probably cheaper.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Move to a dry dorm. Alcohol indirectly generates noise and vandalism.
Talk to an audiologist and get a set of custom molded earplugs. Put in a set of these and you won't hear much talking at all.
Now, I have never lived in dorm, so I have no idea if this is a valid suggestion, BUT...
Maybe there are rules about noise? Quiet hour? I mean, people are expected to be studying, so it makes sense (I could be talking out of my ass, but I really have no idea). If there is excessive noise, find out if there are any rules about noise in dorm and talk to your dean or faculty administrators.
Another suggestion might be to take your studying to the library where you know there's an expectation of silence.
Also, don't write off listening to music just yet. Maybe (*maybe*) you just need to find the right type or genre to help you concentrate and block out noises. Gentle classical music is a popular choice. I understand that ADHD may negate this, but at least give it a try if you haven't yet.
And if you do, you want to be looking for *isolation* headphones, not noise canceling. Noise canceling is only useful for getting rid of predictable noise in a pattern (jet engines, etc).
Klipsch makes some nice isolation buds that are actually comfortable. You won't hear *anything* other than what's coming through the buds.
As someone with the same problem, I feel your frustration. Apart from setting up some kind of fancy noise cancelling device, your only real option is to drown out the sound with another sound.
You can use things like
-a noisy humidifier/heater/AC
-an ocean track on repeat
-white noise generator
-various forms of electronic music. Ideally stuff that has no discernible melody and few if any vocals. I suggest Orbital, Apollo 440, Daft Punk or similar. There are some ok shoutcasts stations, however a lot of them will interrupt the music with somebody with delusions of DJ-hood start talking about this or that, so YMMV.
Buy some of the best (highest dB NRR) ear plugs and ear muffs and wear them together.
For ear plugs, the disposable foam are usually better than the reusable ones. There are quite a few 33dB NRR ratings out there, I like the Moldex brand but that is just personal preference. If you are spending more than $0.15 a pair for disposable 33dB plugs you are doing something wrong.
For the muffs, 30dB NRR fairly easy and cheap to find. If you want to go a little more look for a pair of pro-ears ultra passive ear muffs they claim 33dB but they seem closer to 32dB to me.
Using 33dB plugs + 33dB muffs would give about 44dB total (didn't actually do the real calculation), which would make a lawnmower sound like a library.
Depending on your environment and personal hearing, it may be work loking at a slight lower rated muff that is designed for low frequencies.
a shotgun ?
Suck it up buttercup
Butler: [Answering door] Yes?
Indiana Jones: [In Scottish accent] Not before time! did you intend to leave us standing on the doorstep all day? we're drenched
[sneezes in butler's face]
Indiana Jones: Now look, I've gone and caught a sniffle
Butler: Are you expected?
Indiana Jones: Don't take that tone with me my good man! Now buttle off and tell Baron Brunwald that Lord Clarence McDonald and his lovely assistant
[Drags Elsa towards him]
Indiana Jones: are here to view the tapestries
Butler: Tapestries?
Indiana Jones: The old man is dense, this is a castle isn't it? there are tapestries
Butler: This is a castle and we have many tapestries, and if you are a Scottish lord then I am Mickey Mouse!
Indiana Jones: How dare he?
[punches butler in face]
Like a pair from Etymotic
I have a pair of ER4-Ps I use at work (an open plan office). They have >35dB of isolation. People have stood right next to me shouting my name and I haven't heard them. They're so good that people now recognize when they're in and just wave at me instead. You don't have to get the ER4's either, their cheaper ones have almost the same isolation. Also, buy from amazon or something, they have cheaper prices than Ety's online store.
-c
I have similar problem with OCD/ADHD tendancies. I can fixate on conversations, music, beeps, noises, etc. I have several pairs of Panasonic RP-HC55-S noise cancelling in-ear buds (~$50), and I use either ambient music or white/pink noise tracks I have on my mp3 player. They don't cut out high frequencies as well, but the white noise masks a lot of that.
Seal the room air-tight, and vacuum pump all the air out... best sound isolation possible.
Lots of models of sound canceling headphones so you won't hear what's going on outside.
You get background spoken words, but subject is easy to tune out. I find this method when trying to forget my problems when problems when going to sleep.
This sounds like an incentive to work hard and move to a place of your own. Highly unlikely anything will work that isn't too drastic or illegal. I feel for you, but it looks like you will have to break free from the crowd.
I have had great luck using sound-reducing headphones made for shooters. My current pair from Winchester filters out most noise, and if somebody insists on making me more familiar with their favorite music irritants, adding some shooters earplugs solves all further issues for me.
Use headphones and an app like Babel Babble to create a Polyglot Cacophony. With hard ADHD, it might increase your stress level, but if you are trying to block out voices, that's about the best/cheapest you can get.
egg cartons stuck to the walls, doors celling, a cheap easy way to deaden sound, then play whatever white noise, water flowing etc you want
Ever tried switching on a TV to a program you've seen a hundred times, or a movie/show that you find extremely uninteresting? I generally have trouble going to sleep in a quite house because I find myself wondering about every creak so I usually set a sleep timer on a TV for about 90 minutes and turn the volume down to just the point where it washes out any background noise. It gives you something to focus your attention on but still allows you to be bored enough to conk out.
A combination of white noise from a fan and earplugs to dim out the high frequencies works for me.
Oh, and be sure to find a high quality fan. Cheap ones will have a rhythmic noise or squeak or wobble every time, which ruins the effect.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Back when I was a yout, I used a large box fan. It also helped because my dorm room was not air conditioned. ...And we LIKED it!
Fix Your Own TV - RiddledTV.com Avoid the Landfill
Trains build up in noise slowly; Jake brakes just startle the hell out of you.
I know you said that ear plugs don't block human voices well, but my experience has been the opposite. I work in a cubicle in what amounts to a hallway, and I use foam earplugs when I need silence. When I get them inserted correctly, they block out everything in my work environment. My breathing is the loudest thing I hear, with my heartbeat being a close second.
The trick to foam earplugs is compacting them enough so they slip into your ear canals before expanding. Once they expand in my ear canals, I hear nothing but my own heart and breathing.
I feel your pain - had same issues when I was in school. An old noisy fan works great along with a set of headphones and good minimalist music.
and we use Bose QC 17 headphones. You can't hear anything with them on. If you're still having trouble you can always double up (ear plugs + headphones or white noise + headphones).
Hope it helps!
Tell them to shut the fuck up, you're trying to study. Ridiculous.
Earplugs vary widely by performance and what you can get out of them if you put them in a bit better. Personally, I find the "OHROPAX Color" best. Rated at 30dB, if you put them in, let them warm up a few minutes, then re-seat them, my impression is that you get significantly more than 30dB. And if that is not enough, you can add a pair of external noise dampeners, the effect is additive. You may need to experiment, depending of the geometry of your inner ear, other earplugs may be better for you.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Use ear plugs. then on top of those put some ear protection you use at shooting ranges. I do that at the range, or I leave with a headache. I usually cant hear a thing with them on.
The larger, the better, 3 speed and adjust to taste. Just one such unit helped me through 1.5 years of graduate school.
I've found that voice and interruptive sound can be quite bothersome, but if music is both interesting and acoustic it can have a positive affect... Just the right - balance. Go to candyrat.com & pick out some artists you find intreaguing - you can listen to most on YouTube to try them out. I think you'll be very happy with listening to some acoustic guitar with a nice set of headphones.
You're paying too much for the dorm anyways.
Bose Quietcomfort 15 with a whitenoise generator playing through it, like the sound of rain, or a jet. There are a plethora of applications for android and iOS to make white noise. I know it seems odd that you would play whitenoise through a device that cancels out whitenoise, but trust me, you will block everything out.
Music for an ADHD person is great, but it tends to distract one from the desired task at hand. :)
I've got a home office and it is never quite in the house. I just got some Bose AE2i headphones (not active noise cancelling but large over the ear style) and someone can stand in front of my speaking and I won't be able to hear them. I went through the standard websites like rainymood and simplynoise before starting on the Android apps for my phone, I found the best was the pro version of White Noise https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tmsoft.whitenoise.full . Not only does it have tons of sounds (plus more to download) but you can make mashups - I like to combine all the rain sounds with brown noise for ignoring things and fire + ocean waves for going to sleep. There is a free lite version that is better than most of the other paid-for apps.
My Hello World is 512 bytes. But it's also a valid Fat12 boot sector, Fat12 file reader, and Pmode routine.
move out before it's too late. I also suffer from ADHD, and do to all of the distractions in the dorm was ready to fail until I moved out and into a place without all of those distractions. I might also suggest you go to the library, although I was never able to get there. And then of course as a final resort... Just get yourself some decent noise canceling earphones of some sort and turn your music up until you can't hear anyone. If you find music to difficult to work to, find some very repetitive trance piece that doesn't bother you and listen to it over and over until you forget about it. This also works well for cubical farms after college. Still, your best bet is to move out.
Get one of those old school SCUBA helmets.
My studio - www.graylands.ca
If distraction is a problem, you might want to get some medical marijuana from the guy right down the hall.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
A lot of dorms are made out of cement, and cement is excellent for attenuating sound. But if your door doesn't close tight, then it won't make much difference.
You want to plug up every crack around the door with the most dense material you can find. Look for rubber gasket type stuff you can put in the doorjamb itself to make a tight seal and rubber "lips" you can put on the bottom to seal the crack underneath. Look for the same kind of door-sealing products meant to save energy by stopping cold air from getting in to your house. Also, If your door has a hole in it - like vents - cover them up with somethin thick and dense.
If your door is a light-weight metal or hollow-core wood door, you can try attaching heavy duty rubber sheets to the door itself. There are even some products mostly sold for automotive sound-proofing that are basically asphalt on a roll - Dynamat is one brand although it is expensive. You might just use tar-paper from the hardware store. Either way density is key, forget about fluffy foam, the more dense you can make your door the less sound will get through. Just make sure whatever you use won't out-gas into your room and give you cancer.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
I had a roommate who would listen to music in a language he didn't understand when
he studied. It easily blocked out any voices and wasn't distracting as it was in a
different language so there was nothing to grab his attention. Probably more
effective than white-noise or instrumental as it is still the human voice. If you get
really desperate, try multiple streams of foreign voices at the same time.
Earbuds and soothing non-rhythmic music for sleep. Its the only way to white noise out the noise. The buds work like regular ear plugs.
Either that or just get yourself so tired that you can just go unconscious during WWIII eventually your body and mind will adapt.
And nuke the site from orbit, its the only way to be sure.
Move. I mean that seriously. Not all dorms are alike, and chances are there is a quieter room available. You will have to approach your student services office or similar about your situation, and bring documentation. They may not be able to accommodate you entirely but they may find some arrangement that would be of benefit. For example, they may make a triple in a quiet dorm into a double with a known-quiet roommate.
If you want further information, give us the name of the school. Maybe someone here knows about a quieter dorm on your campus.
We had designated quiet dorms on my campus; of the 7 campuses I've attended, taught at, or attended conferences at, all 7 had designated quiet dorms. Getting in may, however, take effort.
You will also be surprised how far a doctors note will go, even if you are not on medication, to granting exceptions to rules.
For example, I had a friend with cystic acne due to in-grown hairs, and with a prescription from a Dr., he was permitted to grow a beard at BYU, where the only people allowed to have beards are the statues of Brigham Young.
Who the heck is modding my post "troll"? That's my advice. Earn enough money that you don't have to pack yourself into high density housing.
As someone with fairly severe ADHD, I highly recommend white or pink noise. My personal preference is pink noise, just 'cause it seems 'softer', so doesn't hurt my years after extended study sessions and also (maybe due to the sound being spread across more frequencies?) seems to do a better job of masking a wide range of sounds. I've tried most of the other (serious) suggestions people have made here and have found pink noise to be not only the best for blocking out background noise, but if you generate a file of your desired length and have an mp3 player, phone, or whatever, then the file can double as a portable study timer. The cross-platform, open source program Audacity can generate noise of either sort which can then be exported to your audio format of choice. I use this to study in 25-minute intervals, then take 5 minute breaks to bored out, pace around, get water, stare into space, and what-have-you. Good luck!
Go back home to the P's :)
-- L8R, guitardood
Nothing like a hermetically-sealed dorm room to achieve the ultimate silence of death.
Furthermore, I imagine that wallpapering with tar paper makes the fire marshal's heart leap with joy.
I can't just listen to music because I find it too interesting and just end up getting distracted by it.
Listen to bad music. Something repetitive that you have heard a million times before and will not find "interesting".
I'm serious - it works for me.
Best of both worlds.
Ear plugs with larger muffling headphones over top. You can get ear plugs made for YOUR ears from a doctor and the headphones designed for use with chainsaws. You should then just hear your breathing, which can get really annoying.
I sleep in a boatyard that operates 24/7 (power tools, hammering) and the best solution I found was a product by Honeywell called 'Leight Sleepers' that offer ~40dB reduction across the 500-6000Hz range, and their patented flanged tear drop shape (like the big bertha) makes them comfortable enough to sleep in.
http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/headphones/noise_cancelling_headphones/index.jsp
They cancel out human noise fine. I use them in noisy places and I can relax and focus. You are going to want to listen to some sort of music, just pick something easy to listen to like new age.
With the right ear phones.
I have the same problem. I tried every imaginable gadget and trick, but they have not effect. I still hear the noises, specially the voice that call me from behind.
I saw this years ago and was always curious to find out if it worked... try it? http://en.spread-grani.com/sp-tile.html
You people and your diagnosis.
Your ADHD is in your head. Nut up and be a man.
When you get to the real world are you going to be asking for allowances for your problems?
Don't be a fucking pansy.
My advice is to habituate and develop innate control.
I wrote this in a reply to you because, just as your post is a real solution that is possible for motivated people, I expect it would be modded troll, too. Most people are now in the blame mindset and fail to see the reality that is truly possible, nyet only few are motivated and strong enough to achieve... The irony is that to achieve, most people simply need to believe it is possible and then plan accordingly.
I stopped reading at "I have ADHD" and I'll assume right off the bat you're an American, so I'll just say: take the label off, silly. There now.
Noise Cancelling Headphones + ambient, non-vocal techno. Stream some chill channels from Digitally Imported. Pay for a sub to avoid the intruding ad.
Buy some insulation foam, put it up, repanel the wall with plywood/mdf/gyprock. Depends on your budget and skill. And requirements to leave the room as it was. Most people don't notice a false wall if you paint and trim it right...
I mean come on.. how hard is it to find a quiet place deep in the fucking stacks?
As a student with ADHD I get distracted all the time by noise. However eliminating the noise doesn't stop me from getting distracted, it just shifts the distraction from extraneous noise to other areas, like computer games or excessive and pointless research. One strategy that I learned was to talk to myself while studying and to listen to what I was saying out loud. You will feel pretty stupid doing it at first, but it won't take you long to figure out how to do this. This strategy complements your ADHD instead of trying to suppress the tendencies I have found that generally with ADHD you have to play to your strengths, not what conventionally works for other people. Sometimes its much easier to work with your ADHD instead of trying to suppress it. Posting as AC because I am applying for jobs and HR will pick somebody without ADHD over somebody that has ADHD.
It doesn't exist.
There are many good pieces of advice posted so far and you'll have to experiment a little to find what works for you – it sounds like you have a little already. Whatever you do, accept that you will NEVER have an ideal study situation. It simply won't happen. Ever. And if it does you'll find an excuse for it to be less than ideal and go distract yourself with something. Find a couple solutions that help, but don't look to them to fix everything. You will have to cultivate a study skillset and the determination to recognize when you're drifting.
Medication helps, a lot, but is not going to reign it in completely. Look at your diet. I learned in college how so many foods affected my concentration and focus, even more when my curiosity lead me to get an allergy test. It is amazing how incredibly subtle allergies can be, yet obvious when you pay attention. Over ten years later and I still avoid certain foods before I need to concentrate or give a presentation. I tried going without medication for over a year and learned that diet is not replacement, but something that should not be ignored.
Highly repetitive music without any lyrics or dramatic hooks helped too, but based on your post it may not be your thing.
Make the best efforts you can and learn to plan ahead as much as possible.
I hope this helps and wish you the best.
MM
See a doctor and get medicated.
Seriously, if you aren't capable of working when there's voices, music, a ding or whatever -- you need to find a way to deal with it.
Find a pill that works, find a way that works -- whatever, but you need to find for yourself a way to be a productive member of the world.
Personally, I'm an insensitive clod and recommend you fail out of school, lose your scholarship, get a shit paying job for five years in which you struggle to make ends meet, and then appreciate the education you're paying for so you get a little focus in your life. But I'm sure it's really just chemical imbalance and you have no control over it.
nuf sed
Table-ized A.I.
The essence of this is by far the best idea here. Build a sound booth. Whether it's egg-shaped or a tardis-shaped box, it's doable and can be very quiet. Make sure there's a window so you can see the fire alarm, though.
Do Buddhist meditation. The benefits will come on a scale of months to years. The most basic practice is to watch the breath, so we learn to see breath as breath, nothing more. Once we are good at this, we can practice the noting of hearing as hearing, and nothing more. Then the usual explosion of thoughts which stem from a subtle stimuli will become like a plant that is not watered, the tendency will just atrophy if you learn not to feed it. But learning not to do something habitual is easier said than done, for example the tendency to become distracted could be associated with an attachment to some kind of pattern of thoughts, which takes us to the second Noble Truth: that we suffer due to our attachments.
Disclaimer: I am not a teacher of Buddhism but I have been learning and practising for 1 year and I can feel old layers being slowly shod. I recommend it for everyone who thinks they can do it.
weed and or booze to take the edge off.
Others have said it, and I will repeat just to add to the 'volume' of the discussion. Use some good in-ear foam plugs, and then put some kind of over the ear covering. I used to use foam plugs I picked up from the grocery store ($5) and a pair of cheap over the ear sony headphones ($20). The combined noise suppression is shocking. Also no one will think you are 'strange' if you wear normal headphones in the dorm. Playing a bit of music on the headphones even at soft levels will make it nearly impossible to hear someone in the same room, let alone outside. Note... The trick to the in ear foam plugs is to make sure you have them properly installed, for me they are almost binary. If they are not in right they don't do a good job at all.
Regarding sound proofing the room itself, it ain't gonna happen. Don't waste your time on money putting things on the walls. The 'foam' in recording studios is to prevent echos off the walls, not to block sound from outside. Sound proofing is done by installing *mass* into the walls, like solid wood or in some cases lead plates. That isn't going to happen in a dorm.
I have ADHD aswell and have the same problems with distraction, including music. What works best for me is white noise. I use an app on my smartphone, and listen to rain or something.
If your serious you should be off campus, it only makes sense if something as small as human voices can throw your concentration. Immersing yourself in problem situations for your illness will be counterproductive and force you to fail over time. There is also really no benefit education-wise to dorm living, only socially and financially. Give yourself a better chance at success move out to a quiet off campus place.
3M / Peltor 90561 ear muffs. 30dbNRR. I use them at work to drown out the noisy voices. They work far better than anything else I have found. You might also check out Chuck Wild aka Liquid Mind. Very soothing ambient no-beat mood music. Beautiful and relaxing without being distracting. Pandora has a lot in their library so you can try before you buy. I know that music really helped me get through my EE studies. Good luck!
Wait, you were seriously talking about a chair? I thought for sure it was a description of the womb.
option 1: You can move if it's possible. Not all dorms are bad like that and you might be able to move to a different story or whatever.
option 2: Asking your neighbors kindly might work -- if you're a girl. Guys tend to be jerks especially in college. They might make the situation worse but petitions could be made.
option 3: Report the noise to whomever runs the dorms. I'm sure there's a curfew for noise and all that.
option 4: Buy earplugs. They re uncomfortable but you might get used to them. They can help quite a bit except for the bass.
option 5: Buy white noise machines or something similar. This can just about cancel out a lot of the noise that you hear. I use an air purifier.
option 6: Reduce your stress levels, meditate, and get rid of that anxiety. If you have it, you'll notice that you can't sleep easily. I assure you if you work at it, which can take months to years, you'll sleep a lot better. It took falling asleep with my fiancee every night to get over this since somehow she makes my worries go away instantly.
option 7: Exercise early in the morning. This will help you explode your energy early in the morning and make you tired by night time. This is vital to help keep a normal sleep schedule if you have trouble sleeping. You might even sleep through crazy noises.
option 8: Do not eat before sleeping. Eat at dinner and leave about 4hours or so of time before you try to sleep. This way your body won't feel awake. Or, on the other hand, eat A LOT right before sleeping so you can get a food coma. The problem here is that you're in college and eating a lot is probably unlikely.
option 9: Do not drink caffeine after lunch. better yet, avoid it entirely! This will help you rest at night, and reduce your anxiety levels as caffeine and sugar tend to increase anxiety in just about everyone.
option 10: Pay women to sleep with them without music or make any noise. Not sure if that's considered prostitution but whatever, you need your sleep!
option 11: count in your head. count down from 1000 and focus on your counting. This won't just help you fall asleep by concentrating on something else but it'll improve your concentration.
option 12: Do NOT read, watch, or do anything that involves fiction before bed. This activates that part of your brain that makes you up and excited about things. You don't want that before bed. Work, studying, and all that good stuff will activate it as well so plan ahead before sleeping.
option 13: Last option for now -- Sleep medication can help. I sometimes can sleep right through noise but I mainly take it because of anxiety. A simple noise will make my adrenaline and anxiety levels jump through the roof. Lately, not so much because of my fiancee but I took the non-addicting kind and after 3-days it supposedly helps you sleep better for a good while. Try it out and see what happens.
I hope this helps!
1. No it isn't.
2. You're lying.
3. Not how burden of proof works.
4. You need to take that advice far more than you pretend the submitter does.
You will scream at the top of your lungs that I am right. You cannot avoid doing so.
I've run into this a lot; in dorms, in a house with other mates from uni, at work, and so on.
Here are some things that work for me:
- If you can afford it, noise canceling headphones are awesome. If you put yourself in a quiet place, they help a huge amount. Expensive though.
- Always have ear plugs in your bag. They are small, and you can use them in a pinch. Super good for exam situations where things are quiet anyway and you just want to block out that guy who keeps clicking his pen.
- Go to a hardware store, and find the ear protection section. For 20-40$ you should be able to find industrial grade ear protection. This works really, really well; and lasts longer than ear plugs. These are more effective than bose noise canceling headphones, but less comfy and won't play music.
Note that all of the above will only lessen the sounds around you; if you are already in a loud place, it won't make it silent. Which leads me to my next piece of advice:
Go somewhere else. I still have to do this to this day. There is a quiet, distraction free place somewhere on campus where you can go. You have to find it though. I ended up with a collection of about 6 places that were generally super quiet.
You'll also want to find places that are distraction free in other ways too (eg. a desk in a basement at the end of a hall; there was nothing there but what I brought with me, and very few people ever came by). Try to avoid populous study areas; there are other distractions there. Extra good if you can find somewhere that's not too far from a toilet for those long study sessions. If I had to walk too far to find a bathroom, it would take me 10 minutes to get there, and 90 to get back on account of interesting everything.
Music that you can't process. In my case it was chinese pop music, or very loud punk rock. Experiment with different things, you'll probably find something that your brain considers passive background noise. Note that it's not enough to simply change the language or find something without words. I'll happily hum along to classical, and I have no problem singing along to bhangra music. I'd suggest looking at pop music from other cultures, or genre's that are known to be loud and noisy.
Watch the chemicals. Getting the right amount of caffeine is a tricky balance. Obviously it keeps you awake, which is a plus. But having a hit can help sharpen your mind to the work at hand a little bit. Having too much will end up being a huge distraction.
Have a refocus point. Eventually you're mind is going to wander, I found it was helpful to have something that brought it back. Some people use excercise, or a smoke break for this. For me, I printed a little sign that I would stick at eye level that read simple "GRADUATE". Whenever my mind went, this little sign would act as a mental kick in the pants. Most times I could pull it together and get back to the task at hand. Maybe after a few breathes, or something.
Know when to quit. If it's just not working; stop. Take a break (ideally, a limited break; like having no more than three printed sheets of sudoku in your bag), or just switch tasks and come back in a bit.
A trick that I use in today's office cubicles worked fine back in college. Just get one or two cheap desk fans. They are always too noisy for the airflow they deliver, but the point is that they provide enough white noise and pink noise that makes life bearable.
If you can't sleep with white and pink noise, just give yourself one or two nights to get used to it. You will get used to it.
Kriston
Your solution is almost in-hand!
:) Add to that the straight blockage that a pair of earlpugs (from an Audioogist) will provide you, and you will be completely oblivious to all that is around you.
I long-ago created a solution that you will find useful, although created for my own self at the time, in a similar situation.
Play the MP3 "Gray-brown noise.mp3," found at the following public link, on repeat: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84396909/Gray-Brown%20Noise.mp3
You see, the problem with noise-cancelling headphones is that they cancel repetetive noises. That results in a situation in which human conversation is easier to hear. For an ADHD, ithat's backwards. Right? You need a mask.
In reality, what you want to do is to raise the background level of ambient noise across the entire frequency spectrum, to obscure incidental noises (talking, music, etc.). Play my MP3. Whether you use headphones or speakers, your brain will get used to the monotonous (patternless) broad-band "noise," and will quickly adapt to a base level of "even" noise, so that it will ignore many transients (talking, music, etc.).
I call it gray-brown noise because, well, actually, just see Wikipedia. Anyways, gray noise is equalized to have the same perceived-energy-intensity across all of the octaves of the human range of hearing. So, unlike white noise, which is harsh and high-pitched, this MP3 is gray––it is even. Second, I used a Brownian noise-generator to generate the original 5-miunute sound file. (See Wikipedia, but basically Brownian=random walk vs random distribution of frequency energies––>more natural.) It is gray for me because I have adjusted the equalization to match the response of my over-earbuds (from Brookstone) and my iPod. To attain gray, you may have to play with your equalizer. (But hey, even playing this MP3 " straight" totally kills TONS of distracting ambient noise, as you will easily hear. So, don't sweat the perfection of the "gray" part).
You will have to adjust the equalization to your own computer speakers, or to your chosen type of earphones, to achieve the optimal gray. But, after that, you will be in heaven.
Once adjustments are done, you're set; your brain will quickly get bored of the pattern-less "noise," letting you ignore any spurious auditory input, and just get to work. A bonus is that it covers up lots of ambient and transient noises. That is, it raises the signal floor,the floor above which your brain says, "Hey, what's that noise all about?!?
People can blather, play music, and so on, but if you have your "WALL OF GRAY-BROWN NOISE PRESSURE" up in defense, then you are golden. The BONUS is that NO ONE really hears it. It's background to them; sounds like an airplane engine from inside the cabine).
Sincerely,
Sir Holo
sirholo@mac.com
Any thanks from you or other ADHDs (etc.) will make me feel good, knowing that I have helped someone. Feel free to re-post the (unedited) MP3 anywhere (with credit included in meta-data). (
Enjoy!
I have a pair of Shure noise isolating ear bud, then I put on a white, pink, or brown noise depending on the sound.
http://simplynoise.com/ is a free website that plays the sounds, or you can download the mp3.
It works awesome.
Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
I just turn off my cochlear implant. Then, it's total silence - except for those fucking penguins that never shut up.
'scuse me... Dammit! I told you, already! If you guys don't shut the fuck up, I'm gonna drink even more rum to drown you out!
-- green led
Sound conducts through solids so your bones, head, skin will all conspire to breach your cone of silence. You can build a six wall frame and cover and fill the walls with sound proofing. There is a temptation to use materials that are not fully fire safe so don't. You may find that a two wall L helps a lot. Home Depot has products like Auralex 2 ft. W x 2 ft. L x 2 in. H Studiofoam Wedge Panels that you can spend money on.
My dorm had this same problem Since it was old, small and central to campus we asked for and got access to basement class rooms (needed a key) all night. I can tell you that they were quiet and had the advantage of boards and chalk to scribble notes on. In this modern world you might elect to take your ADHD card and make such a request. Who knows they might say yes.
Some libraries have tiny little closet offices in the stacks for grad students. Check that option too.
Stolen from the net:
Poly Urethane Foam Ear Plugs (Disposable)
Poly Urethane Foam Ear Plugs are the softest foam plugs available. They are available in a limited range of sizes because they are designed to be rolled into a thin cylinder, then inserted deeply into the ear canal where they expand to fit most ears. These plugs are very soft and so are a good choice for sleeping, studying, riding a motorcyle, attending the races, or when working on the job or around the house. Most are available with a neck strap (corded) to help keep them handy between uses. Most Urethane foam plugs are tapered, so they fit more comfortably and they have a thin smooth skin that helps them stay clean longer than PVC foam plugs.
MAX (NRR 33) (Average to Large)
LaserLite (NRR 32) (Average)
MaxLite (NRR 30) (Small to Average)
3-M 1100 (NRR 29) (Average)
EarSoft Yellow Neon Blast (NRR 32) (Average)
Sleep/Rest EAR plugs (NRR 32) (Average)
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. Mark Twain.
Mork?
I have similar problems including mild http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_processing_disorder. I'm particularly attuned to sounds and I'm a good audio engineer (among other things). For the past few years I've been wearing foam earplugs often, and when I need real silence, I add a pair of earmuffs. I have a Stihl pair that are amazing.
ADHD is a neurological condition, it's not something you can ignore, it's just sort of there. Superfocus when you don't need it, and lack of any sort of control when one is. There's ways of treating it, but ultimately, it's not something that people can typically just ignore.
Because it's not helpful at all for most people and it ignores the fact that this is a college student, presumably one in school.
What's more, you have to make a shitload of money in some parts of the country to afford to be able to do that. Around here, rent alone is going to be well over $700 a month for an apartment and considerably more if you want a house.
If you "have ADHD", you probably shouldn't be living in a dorm.
I have the same problem (except the A in ADHD). I don't live in a dorm, but the walls are so damn thin in my apartment.
My solution has been to cancel the noise from the neighbours with more, properly generated noise. Having a program generating pink or white noise helps me concentrate. Simplynoise is the generator I use, since it is avaliable for android and iphone too...
For me, all-news radio at a minimal volume is a not-too-demanding sound that covers distracting noises. If you don't have such a station locally, just stream it over the net; WTOP in Washington is pretty good for this.
My upstairs neighbor insists on using his washing machine at odd hours, which is apparently very well acoustically coupled to my bedroom. Bored and wide awake, I was messing around on an old laptop and remembered that its wifi card supported injection.
Now his Internet connection mysteriously drops out whenever the washer is running after midnight. That's generally enough to convince him to go to sleep rather than stay up all night watching porn and doing laundry.
Use a silencer on your assault rifle? I'm sure your dorm mates will see reason and make less noise when you show them a good example.
I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
You can do all of these together to get the highest possible insulation:
1. Foam ear plugs: get good quality with highest possible rating. I wrap them with thin plastic foil (the one used in the kitchen) and leave a small tail, that makes them more comfy for the ears and easier to pull out. Also keeps them clean, you can change the foil every often.
2. Industrial ear muffs: the good quality top of the range ones (not the cheapos at the hardware store) are comfy and you can tolerate them for couple of hours without discomfort. Make sure to get the ones designed for total blockage because some are designed to allow in human voice range.
3. Background music or white noise: either played in the room, or get smallish headphones and stick inside the earmuffs.
This provides almost perfect insulation except for very high bass say a roaring motor bike next to your place.
I use this system when traveling long distance, and trust me it makes a big difference. Turns out that most flight discomfort and exhaustion comes from noise not from other factors.
And use this wire to connect the neutral to the ground. The safest way to fire the breakers. It will be very quiet after.
1. white noise - download a program onto your PC, or there's some websites. To be really effective, wear headphones.
2. keep a fan running (it also produces white noise).
3. earplugs (the foam kind that you roll up).
4. don't think they "should" be quieter and more considerate - this dramatically increases your sense of annoyance. Don't do the "right" thing and carefully "be quiet" yourself. Instead, be relaxed about making ordinary noise yourself. It will make others noise seem less annoying.
I found that as part of my daily routine was spending hours everyday in the main library. You find a quiet corner, preferably among a stack of non distracting books.
Routines are very good to have for people with focus issues. You get to your room, eat the gruel they serve in the cantina, and head off to the library with all your stuff. Work until 10-midnight, go home sleep. Wash-rinse-repeat.
Yeah, I remember those. Still want one. Modded for kybd/mouse/trak/joy/wand operations.
His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
Just be aware that plugs/earphones mostly cut off ventilation into the ear. Prolonged users tend to have more ear/nose/throat infections. Not sure if there is a solution for it.
Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
Get a large fan, or white noise generator. Play music as loud as possible without getting in trouble. Go to the gym and work out. You will feel better.
So there are these panels made from steal, with perforated small little holes in it and acoustic absorbing material inside it. Most sound that hits it will be trapped inside and get absorbed. These panels are extremely effective and are sometimes used as small phone boots in very noise environment met a school canteen.
Even a single flat panel behind a phone already helps. Having a small panels on each side of the ears 30 cm distance is a weird experience, it is like the air pressure is different inside it and you hear almost no sound from outside it. I bet you could make a cubical from it around your work space.
I have no idea how it is called, and google is on the fritz, so you have to do your own googling.
I know that you were being trollish, but I actually have to agree. I didn't spend my time in the dorms except to sleep. My study time was spent down at I-Hop, or in the library. I did find it mildly annoying when somebody was yelling down the hallway, but you can get used to it.
This is actually a good idea for a number of reasons, the most important though is to prepare you for work when you leave uni. Every office I have ever worked in has people talking on phones, idle banter about whatever, builders doing work next door, and whatever else you can think of. For some reason IT companies are often open plan.
It is important to learn to focus through your distractions, even if you have something like ADHD of whatever, unless you are going to spend the rest of you life letting it restrict you. Learn to master it instead. I know it is hard (I also suffer from being very distracted by noise, especially conversations) but it is easier to learn to deal with this when you are young than when you are almost 40 like me. I still have to work through it though and still try not to make any mistakes when I have difficulty concentrating.
Unless you are going to let crap like this rule your life, you just have to find a way of dealing with it. Sometimes headphones will be an option, but sometimes you need to hear some noises (in my case, remote monitoring alarms for servers) so you have to just put up with all the noises that distract you and still get your work done anyway.
Sorry this is not a better answer, but few companies will offer you a completely silent working environment. Even if they try, sometimes an important deadline will just happen to coincide with the office next door demolishing a wall or something and getting builders to work weekends does not happen unless you pay them off the books in cash or double time.
I dont read
Was this you?
If you can't shut people up by burning them then you deserve to be distracted.
I was just like you a couple of years ago: living in a college dorm room, wanting to study, and having ADHD. I studied math at a top university. This question isn't about noise in the dorm, and if you think noise is your problem, it isn't.
Your best solutions are all about your own behavior, but a little (just a little) bit of Adderall doesn't hurt (and if you take the behavioral lesson seriously you'll grow out of your need for Adderall). Most important things I did:
1. Go to the library. Make a rule: library is for work, dorm is for play/sleep (if you're outgoing, those might be the same thing).
2. Make rules for yourself about everything. (This is where the Adderall helps actually.) Compulsion and attention deficit are opposites. Move yourself toward the other end of the spectrum. My pens go in my backpack. My wallet goes in my back right pocket. I do all of my homework in black ink (yes I did math in ink) unless I'm marking something up which case I use red.
3. Study ahead of time and do all those goodytwoshoes things you've always been told to do. I know you're thinking, "duhhhh Anonymous Coward," but it's not a lesson I took to heart until half way through my college experience and good lord did studying ahead take the pressure off. Five minutes of work now = 15 minutes of work a day before the test.
4. Listen to music. You can't cover up the amount of noise you'll run into on a college campus without being a dick (e.g., white noise generator). I don't know if this is just me or applies to everyone who, but I found that as long as I was doing left brain stuff like math and programming, music didn't interfere with my thought process.
5. Stop worrying and learn to love the noise. Make friends with your dormmates. You might learn something from their study habits.
Careful with the Adderall. If you rely on it to get work done then you're not using it for what it's best for: teaching yourself to be meticulous (see number 2). Use it as an aid to make your behavior correct and the attention and self control will follow.
I'm on of those software developers unfortunate enough to work in one of those new age bullpen office environments (productivity++!)
I've found both Brownian and Pink noise are very effective at blocking out the human prattle from the non-knowledge workers. White noise has too much high-end for me, but Brownian and pink noise are just right.
Here are some 10 minute files of each for your perusal;
http://archive.org/details/TenMinutesOfWhiteNoisePinkNoiseAndBrownianNoise
You don't 'have' ADHD, 'ADHD' is just a label for a set of psychological problems, there is nothing wrong with your brain.
Get an I-phone, install what you need to concentrate on it and then pretend you're in a bar with friends! :D
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
That way you'll have an excuse for not asking people to clam up when you need to work.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Play quiet stuff (be it music, noises from nature, white noise, a waterfall, whatever) ON THESE: http://www.extremeheadphones.com/ Your brain will naturally focus on whatever audio comes from them just like any other headphones... but on top if that you'll get twenty something dB less ambient noise, which is a lot of attenuation, that enables you to play whatever stuff at quite low volume. After reading plenty of positive reviews and the story about how they were conceived, they are definitely on my shopping list, my intended use is different, though, I'd like to be able to listen to music on while on the subway, pretty noisy in Madrid where I live, in a comfortable way.
I was the same way in college; I couldn't really study listening to anything with lyrics as it was too distracting. I switched to listening to classical and instrumental stuff from Windam Hill artists. Had I known about ambient like Brian Eno, that would have been perfect too. Music for Airports is relaxing and beautiful as well.
Do what I did: drop out of school.
Fata viam invenient.
move out of the dorm. find a more secluded environment. or try online school from home where you can control your environment more, or use meds to curb your ADHD which may not be an option. Other wise you will spend all the time paying attention to your sound proofing at every sound your hear and not studying. the main frequencies that penetrate the noise canceling headphones and most sound proofing are the lower frequencies due to thier longer wavelength. its just more efficient to move out of the noisy environment to a quite one, and takes less effort than building a sound proof environment. sure you lose the whole "college experience" but really, do you want to suceed or do you want to suffer?
I had the same problem. To block out noise I bought earplugs (the cheap foam kind) that can totally fill my ear canals. Then I had a lot fewer problems.
I also used my library to study because there were a lot fewer people there and they were (by and large) much quieter than the people in my dorm.
Sorry, but your best bets are to get an apartment or just get used to it. If you can't get used to it then get an apartment. Personally, when I was in the dorms I loved it. The background noise was just right for me. If I went where it was too quiet I felt like I was disconnected, missing something and then my mind would wander. It was very hard to adjust to leaving the dorms actually. For you... maybe the opposite is true.
It may be a case of not having found the right kind of music. When I was in undergrad, I found that instrumental music was a lot less distracting than lyrical music. Noise-cancellation headphones have been godsend for me. Some dorms may have designated quiet areas or at least areas that are a little more removed from the action to help facilitate some of the studying. The library is always an option. If not the option, there's gotta be a place on campus, or maybe even off-campus that's a little more quiet. Also remember that college counseling centers are an option to help you get some support and developing some strategies towards managing your ADHD. There may even be a student learning center (i.e., tutoring center) on campus where people might help you develop study skills and strategies for organizing your work so that you can get through it more easily and efficiently.
I commute by train and have a fairly low tolerance threshold for other people's inane chatter and noise pollution from crappy headphones. In a bid to stay out of prison for assault I invested in a pair of Etymotic earphones. IMHO they're arguably the best you can buy when it comes to sound isolation (as opposed to noise cancellation) and sound reproduction. They come with lots of different tips - you can even have custom tips made which are moulded to your ear canals. Expensive, yes. But they really work. Without any music they're like a good pair of earplugs, which as you say still lets through the occasional raised voice. Listen to some quiet, neutral music, though (as mentioned by others, try white noise, nature sounds or gentle ambient stuff) and they really do feel like an isolation tank for your head. You have my sincere sympathy - I too have suffered the chronic stress of other people's noise. If you can get the cash together, try these things out. They have greatly improved my quality of life. Good luck. http://www.etymotic.com/
I think the noise canceling headphones are your best option. You want a set that fully covers your ears. The Bose Quiet Comfort 15 is the top of the line. It's $300, but isn't four+ years of concentration worth this?
The headphones alone will not suffice, you need to pump some sound into the headphones to drown out the remaining background noise. I have two recommendations. The first is to get an app for your smart phone that sends a different frequency into each ear. The right set of frequencies can help you get your brain into a state of focussed concentration. I thought this was BS, but I spent a few bucks for an app (BrainWaves for iPhone) and found that it works for me.
The alternative suggestion is classical music, but not just any classical music. Go read a book call SuperLearning. It explains the studies that determined that classic music with certain characteristics (tempo, time signature, etc.) help people to learn. Read the book, buy some digital copies of the right classic music and pump that into your Bose QC 15s.
So not just any classic and certainly not some of that technoshit, but the right, well studies set of classic music should help you quite a bit.
Enjoy.
Decades back I sat in a large egg shaped shell with a small opening with a padded interior you could sit in with stereo speakers in it.
Then you befriended one of the indigenous females, and moved into her attic. Of course it was all part of your mission to observe human culture.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
You could purchase a small but artistic rug. Staple one edge of it to a furring-strip, then hang that furring strip onto your wall. If the rug was 4x6 feet, you now have 24 square feet of sound-damping material hanging on your wall. The furring strip gives lots of 'hang-points', so you can hang it using a few of those cool 3M adhesive hangers.
Another suggestion is to get a small fan. This gives you the 'hum' of the running fan, as well as some air circulation.
Maybe you better find a way to deal with it. I know it's not easy, but when you're done with college and enter the 'real' working world, you will be expected to act like eveyone else. You're not getting special privilege to wear goofy ear protectors while sitting at a desk, nor would that endear you to your co-workers.
Check out http://simplynoise.com/
Feed it to headphones or earphones to suit your taste. I like the rain simulation, with occasional distant thunder.
Oh, I'm sorry sir, I thought you were referring to me, Mr. Wensleydale.
Have you tried putting a rolled up towel or such along the bottom edge of the door? Leaky doors are terrible at blocking outside sounds. Probably will only help if the door is solid and not some cheap ass hollow interior door.
You can get a sound generator like some people use to help them go to sleep and set it to a sound that is pleasing and not distracting, like a runnng brook or a thunderstorm, perhaps. SOme of these devices have a headphone jack, so you may want to try earbuds or headphones with that.
You can also get these soothing sounds on CDs and just play them through headphones. Rip them to an MP3 player if it's more convenient for you that way.
Use noise-isolating earbuds to enhance the effect. Noise-canceling (different from noise-isolating) headphones or earbuds won't help so much with voices as they will with other types of sounds, like a jet going overhead, a refrigerator running, the HVAC system noise, etc. Between the soothing sounds and the noise-cancelling effect, you may just conquer the background noise.
I find it odd that you tried earplugs without success. When you buy earplugs, are you looking at the advertised level of sound attenuation in db? Some are much better than others. Check a large sporting goods store and see if they have any in the hunting or guns section of the store.
I have ADD also, and I sometimes use foam earplugs with a high attenuation rating to help me get to sleep. I also have used the sound generator at times with crickets, or frogs, etc.
A technique of eastern cultural temperment akin to "dont sweat the small stuff". It is a kind of meditation.
If the noise is loud enough to damage hearing, then you need to physically protect your ears.
It's cheap, easy to work with, flashy (for the girls), and as a bonus...blocks out government surveillance.
When I was at school I would use "white noise".
I would play my stereo into my headphone at a significantly load volume on a station that had no broadcast.
I also used bright lights and facing corner to eliminate all visual distractions.
I have it very bad and actually typed all my notes and also typed everything I read to get better input into my memory.
I wore a weight vest during homework and did an exhaustive workout before starting homework.
These things helped me focus my attention.
That is a move up from his parents basement.
I frequently work at home, sometimes in the same room as my wife and home-schooled kids. In order to be able to concentrate, I have tried a number of approaches. What I usually do is put in ear plugs and then wear hearing-protective ear muffs as well. I use Hearos ear plugs, which offer a noise reduction rating of 32dB. I also have some cheap ear muffs that offer a noise reduction rating in the neighborhood of 25 dB. However, you can get better ones (NRR ~30-31 dB) for less than $25.
Instead of earplugs, I sometimes use my Etymotic 6i isolating headphones (now discontinued), which enables me to listen to music or white noise, while still blocking out ambient sounds. The similar Etymotic mc5 isolating headphones offer 35-42dB of attenuation as well as really good sounding music for about $50.
For $75, you could get the in-ear headphones and some good, quiet ear muffs. Or, if you think music or white noise would be distracting, you could just get some ear muffs and ear plugs for $30-35.
Orson, stop telling our secrets.
The best way to approach this problem is to go to audiologist and get fitted for custom earplugs. They will make a mold of your ear and send it to a company like http://www.etymotic.com/hp/erme.html. You can select the filter up to a maximum of -25dB over a much more even bandwidth than cheap earplugs. It will likely solve the problem without introducing masking noise willy-nilly.
The main design goal for most good earplugs like Etymotic's is to have a flat frequency response which means they decrease the volume level without distorting sound. That is great for music concerts, working around heavy machinery, and any other situation where you want to protect against hearing loss but still hear clearly. However, that same feature makes them horrible for blocking out voices, as they cut all sound equally so the volume difference between the voices and noise floor stays the same, and they are just as easy to hear. Noise canceling headphones are worse as they can only cancel relatively constant background noise, and can't cancel voices or percussive sounds at all.
I have used both of these in a setting like a dorm, and the net effect is to eliminate the beneficial background white (or colored) noise, while largely preserving the distracting noises. I found the foam plugs designed for shooting or sleeping to work much better because they muffle the sounds which makes them less distracting, and the total attenuation can be just as low as expensive earplugs (30-35dB).
It is possible that someone makes custom fitted earplugs design to decrease distraction which would be better than the foam ones, but don't spend all that money without having a long talk with the audiologist first and making sure they will make things better not worse!
I had the same problem. That's why I did most of my studying at the University Library.
When I get into a programming mood, I wear noise blocking ear buds and play new age music (enya and david lanz). The music is predictable, so it is not a distraction and it raises the noise floor so I can't hear outside distractions.
unless you understand Japanese. It's uninteresting being a foreign language, and uninteresting being POP.
Get some -30 dB ear protection - not ear plugs, the kind that look like a huge pair of headphones. I got some from a hardware store for about $40, they make it so quiet I can hear my own heartbeat.
Try concentrating on the distractions, and you'll be distracted by your work!
I am the same way, I work in the middle of a giant cubicle farm and have a lot of trouble focusing.
I have found some styles of music that don't grab my attention, and listen to those a lot. I can create a Thievery Corp station on Pandora and listen to it in headphones (get some over-the-ear ones, preferably with sound isolation) without much distraction.
But my real solution was finding good ambient noise to block out the bad. I use an app called Ambience:
http://ambianceapp.com/
These days my "mixes" are things like "birds chirping and waves crashing" or "rain falling, waterfall and occasional thunder."
The natural sounds, especially birds, also help with alertness and relaxation.
Sometimes I want NO input, so I just put the headphones on to cover my ears and it blocks everything out to the point that my brain doesn't pick up on it.
I used "atmosphere deluxe" its a great lil program that comes with a lot of good presets... watery stream, thunderstorm, birds in the forest etc... but you can import wavs & make your own too.
http://www.vectormediasoftware.com/atmdeluxehome.htm
I regret not doing this as an undergrad. It would have made me a better student and avoided unnecessary fights with neighbors.
Wear some of these:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/15436001?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem
Play a background track of city noises on your speakers.
The city noises provide a blanket of the right signals to make the dorm noises indistinguishable. The earmuffs reduce the volume of everything by 31 decibels. Having worked with real city noises as a background, its quite relaxing, and I imagine the ear muffs will really help you get into the zone.
The questioner asked how to deal with a problem at school, and your answer was "Finish school, then..."
You're not answering the question that was asked. You're answering a completely different question that is useless to the asker and is only intended to make you feel better about yourself, you Hard-Minded Realist, you. Thus, you're a troll.
Mork, is that you?
I've found that headphones and the Monroe institute's hemisync "concentration" works good for me.
1. Tape the vibrator to the hollow adjoining dorm wall.
2. Set it to the desired frequency that cancels out the intermittent noise.
3. Put on headphones with your favorite music.
4. WIN!
have you noticed how the more that you think about each noise and are aware of it, the more irritating and distracting it is?
what would you have to do to think less about it? (and eventually tune it out?)
For me that would be thinking more about something else and accepting that the noises exist (but are not so interesting)
While I don't have ADHD, I work adjacent to a call center and find it completely unbearable. I often use music, but the noise level would be so high that it could lead to hearing damage for 8 hour shifts unless I also paired it with extremely bulk isolation cans which I don't find comfortable. For about $100 you can get Active noise canceling headphones on Amazon. They work even if you are not listening to music and will actively negate the noise with opposing sound waves from the area giving you a highly muffled experience and I can speak from experience that it handles human voices well as well as things like jet and train noise. (disclaimer: I'm not a sound engineer so do your own research). I use the Sony ones, but other brands may be good as well.
A baseball bat and a bad temper.
Not knowing just what in the music cuts through your concentration: "Liquid Mind." by Chuck Wild was recommended by Steve Gibson (of GRC.COM, Spinrite, and Security Now fame). Maybe worth a thought.
I wear Radians molded earplugs with a pair of these voice amplifying earmuffs on top when I go shooting, and I can barely hear the people right in front of me (and they're not talking softly).
Combine the in ear molded plugs with a bigger set of outer muffs, rather than ones designed to amplify voices, and you'd probably miss your neighbors screaming and killing each other.
Nothing will do much for loud thuds, like bass, stomping on your ceiling, Barry White, or slamming things against the wall, because our bodies propagate low frequency sound really well, while the higher frequency stuff needs to travel through the open air to get very far.
Also, if you have a particularly loud neighbor something that helps is putting furniture (particularly furniture that holds clothing) on the adjoining wall.
I use these earplugs:
http://www.earplugstore.com/eclsupvcfopl.html
and have been very successful blocking out noises.
Alprazolam :P
Get this kind of earplug:
http://www.amazon.com/3M-Classic-Earplug-Yellow-200-Pair/dp/B00065TQCW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363378331&sr=8-1&keywords=3m+classic+ear+plugs
They are soft and block a lot of noise.
Put headphones on *over* the earplugs and listen to ambient electronic music ("Space" music), like this:
http://www.cdbaby.com/Top/43
The music has few beats and melodies to distract your concentration, and the louder volume over the earphones helps greatly in eliminating the distraction of outside noises.
This technique has helped me to program in noisy bullpens & offices for years.
I also was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and have gotten by without drugs (which you may or may not value) for my whole life. My technique is to change my environment. You cannot make the people in your dorms less noisy, but you can go somewhere else. For now, you can go to that quiet basement in the physics building, or the graduate study lounge on the third floor of the math building, or that anonymous study area in the Library with all the lockers where the students come and go talking of Michelangelo (but you don't notice because there are a hundred of them). I found all the little quiet spots on my campus when I was an undergrad, and knew how to hop from one to the next if an unexpected distraction arose. Long-term you will want to move into an apartment and get a car which will give you further capability to control your environment. Later on when I was a junior I moved into an apartment but always remembered and occasionally used my old haunts on campus. Changing my environment has been the best and most effective way I have found to get work done. Good luck.
--"You are your own God"--
The best sound blocker is lead such as acoustilead that can attenuate 30 dB or more. Mass loaded vinyl barriers can work as well.
Most noise is going to enter your room though the window or the door.
The window you can "plug" with foam. For a big window, you may need to spray glue the foam to a flat piece of wood.
For your door, try door seals.
For your head, use NRR 31 ear muffs with NRR 33 ear plugs physically in your ears.
Princess
In the spirit of the movie Old School (if you're in college I'm sure you've seen it)...earmuffs!
Seriously though, I went through college similarly distracted and invested in an industrial-grade pair of Howard Leight earmuffs (http://www.howardleight.com/ear-protection/earmuffs available everywhere, or any high grade earmuffs will do). If you get a suitably rated pair you will hear basically nothing at all. Pure silence. Great for uninterrupted focus. I used to knock out multiple hour study sessions even in busy environments. Although, I did have lots of people tapping me on the shoulder asking where I got those awesome giant red headphones. The look of pure confusion on their face when I explained them to be earmuffs was always priceless.
The best part: its cheap. A good pair won't cost a lot of money and you won't have to put up a bunch of junk on the walls of your dorm room. Do it now, you won't regret it.
Nice try, Lord Vader.
Tune your FM radio into an unused frequency, and turn it up until it drowns out external noise. I do this in hotels all the time.
I just put on headsets or in-ear plugs and listen to a youtube video of white noise, such as rain. Here's a link which works for me: http://youtu.be/GyUwg2fBg3k
I don't know what dorms you are familiar with but at least where I went to schools, and many schools of which I am aware, the dorms were definitely -not- the lowest-cost living arrangement available. They were much more expensive than living in an apartment off campus but we weren't allowed to live off campus our first year or two.
Forget studying in your dorm room. Go to a study hall and preferably find one of those desks with the walls on three sides so you can get into your own little world. Just try not to sit near the cute girl or that will distract you.
Never hit your grandmother with a shovel, for it leaves a bad impression on her mind...