This is the bane of my life at the moment and ruining Thailand for me! Is it bothering anyone else or is it just me? Everyone seems to be buying suitcase size speakers from the supermarkets or aquiring bigger hifi systems for their homes and pickups all with super bass output and they are blasting out music at a ridiculous volume. 

Where I stay I like to stroll around a quite small, twice a week, local evening market. This week there were 4 pickups blasting out heavy bass music at a ridiculous volume, and 2 right next to each other! As I walk by them my stomach and abdomen literally vibrated making me feel quite nauseous. The Thais dont seem to be bothered by it and if they were they probably wouldnt complain anyway.

 

I loved heavy bass when I was young but it was never like this or enough to affect me physically as this does. When I 1st lived in my Thai town 13 yrs ago sure it was noisy and nearly every night u could here music coming from somewhere or another, but it was music and not just a thumping bass. And if it was close enough to bother me I could close the windows and/or use earplugs solving the problem. But it is impossible to shut out this sickening heavy bass out of your room/house because it resonates inside the space u r in and sometimes even makes things vibrate.

I usually stay at a hotel (BS Residence) near Suvarnabhumi when I arrive and before I fly home. Some of their rooms have always been notoriously noisy from a nearby all night karaoke bar but earplugs usually enabled one to sleep, but this March the karaoke had been replaced by this horrendous heavy bass dance music which made my room shake and forced me to try and sleep on the small bathroom floor which was quiet until it thankfully stopped early at 2.30am!

It would not be so bad if u could actually hear the music but all u can hear and feel is this sickening bass even coming from miles away. And for some reason it does not have a consistent beat as music used to have and to which u could relax somewhat and 'settle' into the rhthym and possibly get to sleep. No! the beat seems to be quite erratic and also constantly keeps changing.

 

Another pleasure I like is walking or cycling along the river or around a lake at sunset to enjoy the special mellow vibe at this time. There have always been one or two groups of ladies doing aerobic dances of different kinds which was very nice to see and the music was not that loud and soon died away after u had passed by. But now the groups have gradually increased in number  and have all aquired these huge suitcase speakers and they seem to be competing with each other in volume.

There used to be one small friendly group of lovely old ladies in their 70s and 80s doing their steps to a little ghetto blaster, but now, even they, or the younger ones who have replaced them, have one of these huge speakers turned up to a ridiculous volume! What makes it worse is that they usually dance to music of very poor sound quality which is accentuated by the horrendous volume! So now I can hear one group or another for almost the entirety of my walk/cycle. In fact now I prefer to forego the sunset and go later when it is dark and they have gone home!

<snip>

Sorry mate i cant hear a bloody thing from here can you ask em to tone it down pleeeeze cos even my windows have started to buzz.

I do feel for you i realy do despite my tongue in cheek 1st reply, the odds are truly stacked against you on this one.

I went to some outside function several months ago and they had those huge speakers and unfortunately we happened to have been sat some 30 ft from the front facing speakers and the bass level made me physically sick! and volume meant none of us, not one, could actually speak to one another as we couldnt hear a word that was being said. Absolutely stupid situation and we left after about 40 minutes.

 

We did explain to our hosts about the problem as we left.That was met with a smile a wai and "sorry" but no actual action.☹️

I'm fortunate enough to live in a very quiet Soi. The only noise we had here was from 2 fat South African girls who could only communicate by shouting in each others faces, but thankfully they have left.
I also hate the noise of that stupidly loud "music" and avoid it whenever I can.
There's nothing you can do though to change their behaviour. You either get a pair of those new noise reducing headphones (they are truly amazing, but not sure if they can reduce the bass), or you have to change residence.

Good luck

Thais are afraid of ghosts

+

According to Thais ghosts don't like noise

=

Thais like noise

I had to move out of $1900 a month condo because the guy next store had a surround sound system. There was nothing the management could do about it. They told me to hand pictures on the wall.

 

The base would penetrate through the walls. My bed room was next store, so i started sleeping in the living room, still could hear it. He smoked weed too, would come through the walls. The fat fug would set the timer at night and bake blood cakes, my whole apartment would smell like cake in the middle of the night!

I'm staying in a small village and they had a festival a while ago with those loud bass speakers going up and down the streets. The whole house was vibrating and my insides felt uncomfortable.

 

Girlfriend told me the local temple paid for 200k for it. I cringed at how rediculous it was, meanwhile the place is run down,  power and water goes out often. That money could have been put to better use. 

38 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

I went to some outside function several months ago and they had those huge speakers and unfortunately we happened to have been sat some 30 ft from the front facing speakers and the bass level made me physically sick! and volume meant none of us, not one, could actually speak to one another as we couldnt hear a word that was being said. Absolutely stupid situation and we left after about 40 minutes.

 

We did explain to our hosts about the problem as we left.That was met with a smile a wai and "sorry" but no actual action.☹️

Next time talk to them before you leave, then they could do something about it.

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

Next time talk to them before you leave, then they could do something about it.

They have the loud music even for funerals, so the next time will be in seven days, and then 100 days after that.

They possible COULD do something, the question is WOULD they. No way. They do not want to lose face with the music operator/DJ.

More volume = more sanook....   That is the only way many will see the 'speaker' issue.

 

If foreigners are not comfortable with this situation then you may be accused of being 'jai-rai' or 'jai-raun' by some cackling bit of strumpet sporting some slapper ivory and a giveaway tattoo... I've digressed... 

 

In short - Farang no understand...  Its the mind-numbing banality of it all which makes many events worth avoiding !

 

 

 

 

 

16 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Next time talk to them before you leave, then they could do something about it.

They wont. They will just think that he is weird.

Thais are selfish and have some strange idea that the louder the better.

Even if they are all going death.

Edited November 21, 20196 yr by fishtank

Its called getting old and cranky.

1 hour ago, SunsetT said:

The Thais dont seem to be bothered by it

Music sound better loud. 

 

 

Here in Pattaya I have noise of open air bars every night. In addition to big speakers they use very big sub woofers directed in my direction. My experience after endless complaints at the City Hall is that these mostly young people can do whatever they want to do. It is on you to take action and to move away if you don't want to live with it. When I bought this condo this area was completely quiet.

 

I never would buy a condo here again. 1 big speaker can ruin your investment of several million Baht and the only thing you can do is to forget it and move somewhere else. Now they stop at 2 in the morning. But if I remember correctly they were discussing to extend the opening hours until 4 in the morning. I don't remember that they were discussing the noise pollution these open air bars create now already for very many people. There are not only tourists suffering but also small children who need sleep, children who have to go to school, people who have to work and... 

"Low Frequency Intrusion (LFI) is the involuntary exposure to loud low frequencies in people's personal environments, like their home or work place, inducing physical and mental distress. Evidence suggests that second-hand bass frequencies, most commonly generated by high-powered car or home audio systems, have a negative impact on the human body, mind and spirit."

http://www.lowfrequencyintrusion.com/?p=about

 

Studies have shown that there are direct links between noise and health.

Problems related to noise include stress related illnesses, high blood pressure, speech interference, hearing loss, sleep disruption, and lost productivity.

 

I live in a small Isaan village. If someone isn't having a party or wake at 7am with those crazy speakers blasting out morlam, then there are guys driving pickup trucks loaded with mattresses or watermelons belting something out through a loudhailer.  I rarely get a chance to sleep in past 8am. Noise pollution is not a real thing in Thailand. When I ask my wife about it I get the classic Thai smile and she just says that's how it is.

 

But then again the first thing in my memory from my adventures in Thailand as a young man is that incessant bell-ringing of the street food vendors near Khao San road after having had a skinfull the night before. I don't know why they insist on using those bells to attract custom in an area surrounded with hotels and guesthouses packed with hungover people. Maybe that's part of the experience. Or maybe they are trying to attract blind people. Who knows. Thailand is a funny place.

Edited November 21, 20196 yr by SteveK

Happy, after many different places in TH, I did do my research before renting (visiting at night to check too, few days). 
Now living in a super quiet village, if there is anything going on it will never last longer than 10-11PM on average. 

Just some dogs barking casually, but not many and never too long. I hate noise, living outside of town and around old people on purpose. 

Yeah welcome to Thailand. Thai music has a bandwidth of less than 30 to 100 Hz.

I got myself an over the ear noise protection, looks like a heavy headphone, the airplane guys use it on the airfield while the engines are running. Good brand is 3M. can order online through Lazada. Or else go to the noisemaker with a young baby in the arm, tell them baby cannot sleep. Worked well in my case...????

6 hours ago, my friend you said:

I got myself an over the ear noise protection, looks like a heavy headphone, the airplane guys use it on the airfield while the engines are running. Good brand is 3M. can order online through Lazada. Or else go to the noisemaker with a young baby in the arm, tell them baby cannot sleep. Worked well in my case...????

555
Once one of those pickup truck vendors passed by my house using his megaphone at full volume. I ran out of the house to talk to him. Asked him to please be quiet because my baby was sleeping in the house and if it wakes up it would be a big problem. He left quickly and quietly.
Full disclosure: I don't have children. ????

 

1 minute ago, Momofarang said:

Yeah welcome to Thailand. Thai music has a bandwidth of less than 30 to 100 Hz.

It is not so much the kind of music. The problem is that they often use now speakers that can generate very deep strong noise. The advantage is that even if you are deaf already and don't hear it anymore you still can feel the noise.

 

But against very deep noisy frequencies there is not much you can do. At least if you still want to have windows and balcony doors instead of thick solid walls. Sometimes even the walls vibrate. I have expensive special windows already and they block high and middle frequencies but not very deep frequencies. I even use earplugs in addition and this is still not enough. 

1 hour ago, Yinn said:

Music sound better loud. 

 

 

Absolute rubbish. And distorted music, creating a square wave, will damage your hearing much quicker than loud good quality sound.

9 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Absolute rubbish. And distorted music, creating a square wave, will damage your hearing much quicker than loud good quality sound.

wgdanson is probably the most sensible and down to earth poster here. If he says it's rubbish, then it certainly is. He also likes to have a joke too. Thai people reading this take note.

nowt wrong with some doof doof infact iam looking to add a 15" sub to my pickup as the 2 12" subs dont hit low enough.

4 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

nowt wrong with some doof doof infact iam looking to add a 15" sub to my pickup as the 2 12" subs dont hit low enough.

If u like it fair enough but dont punish everyone within 5 miles who doesnt and/or is trying to sleep!

1 hour ago, tabarin said:

Happy, after many different places in TH, I did do my research before renting (visiting at night to check too, few days). 
Now living in a super quiet village, if there is anything going on it will never last longer than 10-11PM on average. 

Just some dogs barking casually, but not many and never too long. I hate noise, living outside of town and around old people on purpose. 

And the chickens at 5am! I am in the sticks and love it, but when the fish sauce vendors come, or yes, mattress sellers, I stand at my gate and put my fingers in my ears. They couldn't give a toss as most of the locals couldn't buy anything from them.

Where can I buy one of those things with nails the cops use to stop vehicles. 

3 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

If u like it fair enough but dont punish everyone within 5 miles who doesnt and/or is trying to sleep!

I can't hear them crying so the care factor is extremely low.

    Noise is my biggest dislike of Thailand ( I have  many more likes than dislikes ) . Whether it's booming music at concerts and festivals , incredibly loud volume speeches and announcements at schools and on planes , or the problem the OP has at the night market , there's nothing anyone can do about it --- especially not farangs .

Alarming when you see people holding babies next to mega watt speakers, they almost always have the bass too high to the extent you often cannot hear the vocalist properly. There are places that get the sound right, surprisingly our local market which has some very expensive equipment. Never go to a concert without boots wax ear plugs stuffed in, has the advantage of not being able to hear what the mrs is on about as well ????

Edited November 21, 20196 yr by Orton Rd