“It is easier to love humanity as a whole than to love one's neighbor.”Eric Hoffer
There are plenty of ways to tackle such a situation depending upon how you want it tackled. But we certainly don’t advocate the method employed by one of the victims, who was hell-bent on giving the offending neighbor a dose of his own medicine. He set up a video camera in an open window and got the neighbor’s noisy blast on the film along with the date and time. He then set up a heavy duty, powerful boom box within a few feet of the neighbor’s window and let him have it. As the neighbor called the police, he explicitly showed them who started what and when! According to the adherents of this method, "blasting back" is not infantile, “it’s simply communicating in a language that the friggin’ noisemaker understands”!
Whether or not the level of nuisance represents a health risk, it is advisable to first try and resolve the dispute informally. Some tried and tested methods are:
Keeping a record: At the first sign of trouble with your neighbor, no matter how petty, always start a diary of incidents, recording their dates and timings. Make this as detailed as you can. It’s not a legal requirement, but you may need it to back up your complaint and it could be used in evidence, if you do decide to go to the court. Keep a note of all letters, phone calls and conversations. Collect other evidences too, if possible, such as photos, clips and the like. This is vital. In case matters get worse, it will give you some proof of the events, even though this may not be admissible in court. Remember, recording of small instances and occurrences of your neighbor’s misdemeanors do add up to become clinching evidences.
Soundproofing your room: If you’re the reserved kind who is reluctant to even broach the subject with your neighbor, leave alone fighting it out with him, then it is best to tune out your neighbor by soundproofing your apartment. For the paper-thin common wall, that even allows the sound of your neighbor scratching his unmentionables to filter across, use a sound barrier by affixing false plywood panels in fiberfill. This would decrease the noise from across. Fabric is also a great sound reducer, so use lots of it – use carpet and padding on the floor, draperies at the windows and upholstery on the walls.