I live in a ground floor flat and can hear my neighbour's water gushing through the pipes, so she must be able to hear mine too. I don't know if it bothers her as much as it does me - I keep a big distance between myself and neighbour - but I never hear this noise at my parent's semi-detached house. I can also hear my neighbour shout at her dog, 'oh, be quiet, get DOWN!!!', she shouts. I hear the noise of furniture moving, washing machine, and general domestic noise. And this neighbour is not what would be considered 'noisy', apart from the odd burst of super loud music, and the time when she argued with her boyfriend ALL night long - I can never forget that!.
I am sensitive to household noise, but I think the problem is poor sound insulation. Hearing her water is just the limit!. Is this the case in all flats? I have OCD, so have the water on a lot - I would hate living below someone with OCD, like myself!. There is no privacy. Is the Autism Act looking at housing and autism?