Fourth of July is approaching and it may leave you wondering how to block noise from neighbors fireworks. Let’s face it, not everyone enjoys loud fireworks. If you live in town you may have mixed feelings about this holiday. Chances are you either love or hate it. For me, the Fourth of July used to be a favorite holiday, and don’t get me wrong, I’m a parent so I’m still excited for my kids to experience the 4th festivities. But in 2018 we moved from the country into a town, and I gained a new perspective and experience when it comes to fireworks.
Okay, some back story is in order. So last New Years I was severely sleep deprived. I was dealing with undiagnosed anxiety which had gotten out of control after our move and was racking my mind and body, plus we were still trying to get situated from our big move.
Because of all of this and our 5 month old baby I had only been getting a few hours sleep per night for weeks. There had been two spells within the 3 weeks prior-where I went 36 hours on less than 5 hours of sleep and another stretch of 24 hours with no sleep.
The night before New Years was another rough night, I was woke so many times by the baby and was going on only a couple hours sleep. So by New Years Eve I was beyond exhausted. My husband and I were also dealing with sickness.
After dinner that evening, 8 o clock rolled around, and I was exhausted. My husband had already fallen asleep-he had been working out in the elements all week. As I stayed up with the kids we were delighted to realized our new home was blessed with a perfect and beautiful view of our towns fireworks show from our warm, cozy living room. It was so nice for the small children because since it was about a mile away that muffled the loud sound which normally always scared our little babies and one of our sons that has sensitive hearing.
After the show, at about 9 p.m. I finally fell into bed and just as I was drifting off to blissful sleep it started.
“BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!”
A nearby neighbor was putting on their own fireworks show. And it would not end.
For hours, there would be 5 minutes of silence, and just as sleep would come “BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!”.
It kept disturbing the baby, and between the noise and baby stirring and randomly waking it made it impossible for me to sleep for a second night, even though I was beyond exhausted.
After a couple hours I was in tears with exhaustion. If you have ever lost two nights sleep in a row after weeks of sleep deprivation, you know what I’m talking about!
Anyways, that experience had me dreading the next Fourth of July! So I did some research and came up with ways to be more prepared for the round of fireworks.
I’m going to share the idea’s I found below but before I give this list, I would like to share why I think loud fireworks (note I said LOUD-there are many quiet fireworks options!) shouldn’t really be allowed past 10 pm, and why I sincerely don’t understand why our town or any town allows loud fireworks to be discharged after 10:00 pm at the latest.
Why Doesn’t Everyone Enjoy Loud Fireworks?
- Most people have to get up at regular hours and go to work on July 5th (and many do on Jan. 1st).
- Veterans that have PTSD find fireworks difficult to be around. Loud fireworks can trigger severe anxiety for them, and lack of sleep caused by fireworks can worsen their anxiety. If you have PTSD I did find THIS ARTICLE that might have some helpful tips for you for fireworks season.
- People that suffer with anxiety find it worsens when they miss sleep which loud fireworks late into the night can cause.
- Loud fireworks can be terrifying for small children, autistic kids, and pets. Carrying on with them all through the night is awful for them (and their caretakers).
- It’s just plain rude to shoot loud, noisy fireworks past 10 pm!!! I mean, HELLO!
So since our town allows fireworks on the 4th until 11 p.m. for a few days in a row (unless a burn ban takes effect), I’ve started creating a list list of ways to cope with the noise and still get some sleep this 4th of July. Here’s five idea’s I’ve come up with so far.
How To Block Noise from Neighbors Fireworks
- Keep an eye out for your city’s fireworks ordinances. Often times they are published in the paper. Judging by our towns I’m thinking the ordinance makers in our town don’t have babies-and I’m wondering if they even have to go to work through the fireworks days! One year our town’s ordinances that were published in the paper allowed fireworks to be discharged as late as 11 pm for 3 days! Not all towns are as lax as ours, so I encourage you to look up your ordinances. If your town has a cut off at 10 p.m. and kids are shooting them off past then, you can call a deputy!
- We are blessed with a basement and I discovered that it’s pretty soundproof. Most basements are and could always be camped out in for days when fireworks are going off late.
- Ear plugs. They won’t work for everyone, or a baby or young kids of course. So since it won’t work for them it won’t work for parents but this could work for some people.
- Get a white noise machine-or use an app. YouTube also has 10 hour long white noise videos.
- Look into a place in the country to getaway to. Maybe you know someone you could go stay with?
So those are the idea’s I have so far. If you have more tips please, PRETTY PLEASE, leave them for me and others in the comments section!
PS. If you would like to participate in fireworks but don’t want to be a thorn in your neighbors side with noise consider looking for silent fireworks when out shopping this year!
If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out 4th of July Hot Dog Bar Recipes!
Have you seen my 4th of July idea board on Amazon?
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