Apartment tenant sillily asks neighbor to take down their noise-polluted wind-chimes through letters and poetry to no avail, now begs internet for help: ‘I cannot go another year with this external tinnitus!’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
May 25, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Apartment living is difficult for many, especially when you're surrounded by inconsiderate neighbors who fail to remember that they live in close quarters with other human beings who have eyes and ears. This is why folks decided to buy homes with loads of outdoor space so the property line never becomes a major issue… but not everybody has the homeowning kind of money. I sure don't.

Either way, we all have to make compromises. One of the most annoying things for any tenant or homeowner to endure is loud noise. Noise ordinances are put in place to prevent folks from blasting music all night long, which works most of the time. What do you do about the lesser-thought-of noises, though? The dreaded wind-chimes, for one…

It seems if HOA board members are;t affected by them, then it doesn't exist. The tenant in this next story explains that they have a neighbor who refuses to take down their wind-chimes, and it's gotten to the point of a potential crashout. Read the full story below—this poster knows how to get you giggling.

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  • Wind-chimes, like all things, are great in moderation. I don't want to hear the early morning wind forcing the chimes to crash into one another while I'm trying to sleep in on my day off. You wouldn't either, and neither would the wind-chime owner, probably. Which is why the tenant who posted this story is trying everything in their power to get the chimes dealt with.

  • Cheezburger Image 10508569088
    via Glen Michaelsen for Unsplash

  • "Neighbor's wind chimes are driving me insane. I've tried peace. I'm willing to start a (silly string??) war!"

    Adding clarification - Don't think "wind chimes" as you read this because we often have strong wind all day long. So, think ice cream truck parked outside your
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • window but the music has been rearranged as just 4 random high notes and it's stuck on loop and the truck won't leave and there's no effing ice cream involved.
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • The scene: I live on an upper floor of a midrise condo. Our unit is a smallish 2BR rectangle. Our balcony plus all of the windows and outside door all face my
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • neighbor's very large home and yard. 2 years ago, she got a set of high pitched wind chimes and hung them on her side patio, which is in our direct line of sight, looking down.
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • The situation: I primarily work from home. We live in a very windy area. We don't have air conditioning so from April until October, all the windows and the door remain open. This just
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • happens to be the length of time she keeps the chimes up. Also? I can hear the chimes with the windows shut. They interrupt my thoughts, my meetings, and my
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • sleep. I was into the bird app for a time, trying to identify the birds around us by sound and the chimes are in most of the recordings!
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • What I've done so far: Last summer, I wrote her a sweet letter inside a card. After pleasantries and neighborly greetings, my approach was along the lines of "I'm sure it's
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • just the way sound carries as we can hear everything up here, but the chimes are quite loud and I do work from home. Could you please consider either taking them down or moving them to the other side of your house?"
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • Cheezburger Image 10508571648
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Her response: She put a rubberband around them for maybe a week? Then she moved them literally 6 inches from where they were before -
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • installed a new bracket. I guess she thought they would be more protected from the wind but she was wrong.
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • So, after another 2 months or so, I wrote her a poem. It was one that was beautiful but had a decidedly negative tone regarding the chimes. I asked her at the end of the poem if she would please take them down. Nothing happened.
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • I can't remember if I wrote her again after that. I thought about it a lot. I thought maybe just a picture of chimes with an x on it?
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • Other thoughts: We have a noise ordinance. She's basically playing music after 10pm, which are quiet times where neighbors have to stay under a certain decibel level. I thought maybe leaving a copy of the ordinance with an X through a picture of the chimes?
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • Massive can of silly string I can shot from the balcony to gum up the chimes? Drone shenanigans? More creative creative writing?
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • More about the scene: she has a 6 foot wooden fence that separates our properties. Her driveway is kinda long so knocking on her door involves walking into her property and
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • feels invasive. I've been leaving the notes in her mailbox. I don't know how loud the chimes are from the ground but her house is so big that I doubt she hears them often at all. HELP!! I cannot go another year with this external tinnitus!!!!!!!
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • asyouwish In no apartment I've ever lived in were wind chimes allowed. Have you looked in your lease?
    via asyouwish
  • Sometimes|SmileOk We're in a condo. Strict HOA. No way would chimes be allowed. However, she's in a separate home at the edge of our property but only feet away. The chimes are 3 feet from our property line. She doesn't have to follow our rules, but our HOA can contact her and request that she keep her "music" contained to her property. Someone suggested getting our board involved and I think that's a great approach. I will make a final personal attempt then hand it to the board and then see exp
    via SometimesISmileOk
  • PURPLEPRI 9 Super powered laser pointer to burn the strings?
    via PURPLEPRI***9
  • Thin_Arrival3525 I don't have any help but I feel you! If wind chimes are so wonderful, why aren't people putting them inside their house with an open, breezy window so they can hear them up close and personal??? They are absolutely noise pollution and should be banned! I hope you find some resolution and peace.
    via Thin_Arrival3525
  • Sometimes|SmileOk Exactly! I was going to suggest this to her in my next letter. Like, could you please move them inside your house and point a fan on them? It is not just I who should appreciate your sophisticated Spotify playlist!
    via SometimesISmileOk

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