Is there any soundproofing that works for a bedroom please? (low-frequency bass sounds)

Wall and ceiling panels I don't think will help. Sound bounces off hard flat surfaces, so the panels are designed to be soft and often wavy to counteract echo within the room.

You can get sound deadening materials which go in, on or to make walls out of, but they will struggle with bass. It travels through materials easily so it's almost impossible to stop.

It may be worth going to your GP. Be sure to mention the insomnia.

Thanks for your kind reply D . I don't understand why they cannot make materials and houses that dampen bass noise and I am sure there are lots of others out there suffering every day. I don't really want to waste my GP's time or end up with sleeping or anti-anxiety tablets for noise. When there is no noise, I can sleep. But I struggle to not focus on any noise I can hear when I am trying to get to sleep.  I am going to persevere with white/brown noise masking to see if I can find a sweet spot between distraction and a headache from too much noise in total (white noise + bass is sometimes worse for me). I appreciate your help.  K

Pardon for what is possibly an unhelpful post, but from a purely practical pov, in terms of blocking low frequency soundwaves it's mass rather than material that does it - from a studio perspective building a room that keeps the sounds isolated within is quite a challenge...

It's usually built as a room within a room with a high density material surrounding the inner structure... Best way to imagine it is thinking of a larger box with a smaller box inside, with a reasonably thick layer of sand (or similar) in between the two boxes. 

There are things like high density rock wool that can absorb some of the vibrations through walls, but you'd still get it through the floors etc, and you'd lose a good foot from your room... all the way around if you wanted to block everything. 

I feel your pain - there's not a lot worse than having someone else's noise forced upon you, which is the main reason I use headphones to make/listen to music. 

No problem at all! While I am fairly noise sensitive to sounds out of my control, really I come at this from the opposite: trying to stop other people hearing the sounds I make... I think being noise sensitive makes you more aware of the need to reduce your own as much as possible*. 

I didn't know about white noise headbands - I'd worry about tinnitus (a regular worry after decades of headphone wearing) but apparently they are a direct fix for that - guessing it's about getting levels as low as possible. 

 I hope you can get it all within acceptable levels - I certainly understand that feeling of being totally locked in to something outside of your own control. Good luck! 

(* I'm no saint though - I'm sure my neighbours hear the soundbar under my TV when I watch a film!)

Thanks Acquiesce .  I really appreciate all your helpful pointers. I have not heard of acoustic sealant, but it sounds good so I will look into it. I agree re sealing noise out being pretty challenging in the summer, but I am hoping that if I can seal it out when I first go to bed, I can open windows at 2am when the noise goes down and still get some cooling into the room.  A fan may be a good intermediate.  I have a white noise sleep headband, but it sometimes makes my ears ring or gives me more of a headache, so perhaps the fan would be enough to break up the repetitive music even if not drowning it out.  I will do some more research, but I am grateful for your informed experience! You must have been through the exact same experiences/feelings.  Hope your situation now is good.  Thanks again. x

Ah, hadn't thought about the link thing...

I've read acoustic sealant is pretty good, though don't have any direct experience there but understand the logic - it's flexible and, if done right, seals the space. I guess I'd try that with a reasonably plush carpet on top. More furniture/mass helps too - think creatively; if you have space under the bed for example fill it with high density rockwool or similar (even keeping it wrapped in the plastic coating it comes in will work). 

Web searching wise id look up DIY home studio soundproofing - obviously you're looking to keep noise out rather than in but it's the same principle. 

With the headphones thing I wonder whether a well positioned fan would cause enough white noise to drown out the outside - I lived abroad in a city for a bit and it really helped me to zone out of the outside noise. Took a long while to adjust to not having one on too.

Bests to you too, and remember: a soundproof room is an airtight room... I wouldn't recommend living in a vacuum though; air is pretty useful!  

Thanks Acquiesce . I am going to try window inserts and maybe some flooring, but other than that, you are right, headphones and white noise may be my only option.  It would be nice to be able to live freely, but I have to hold on until my kids are old enough for me to start saving up again...  Thanks for your help.  Any floor suggestions/websites would be great, but I am not sure if you are allowed to post them here?  best wishes. K

Not only are they expensive, I imagine success is very subjective. There's lots of things you can try, but you run the risk of throwing a lot of cash at it for marginal improvements, depending on how sensitive you are to it. 

With low frequency waves once they're in they're in - I'd feel around and try to guage where the worst spots are (as in can you feel the vibrations on the windows the same as the walls, floors etc... and try not to get too focussed in here - keep it within an hour or so!). If you can determine one area that's worse I'd start there...

For windows I believe you can also have inserts made, though obviously opening and closing is then a potential issue. There's also thick dampening curtains which may help a little.

Walls/floors you can insulate - adding mass is going to help the most but there are other options. I know of studio types that have taken doors off wardrobes and added furniture to absorb bass frequencies too, but really you've got to go with what's practical.  

At my last place my studio was in the cellar - I went the high density foam (100mm rockwool) in the walls route with acoustic dampening plasterboard, bass traps etc... it did a great job of sending the sound up through the floorboards into the living room above! We sold the house before I went the let's dump sand/high density foam into the floorboard spaces, but really headphones for 99% of the time was my solution, with speakers used only to briefly reference/fix at the final stages. 

Good luck, and if I can point you in the direction of ideas/useful websites I'm happy to - I'm here periodically but will try to remember to log in a bit more often. 

Not only are they expensive, I imagine success is very subjective. There's lots of things you can try, but you run the risk of throwing a lot of cash at it for marginal improvements, depending on how sensitive you are to it. 

With low frequency waves once they're in they're in - I'd feel around and try to guage where the worst spots are (as in can you feel the vibrations on the windows the same as the walls, floors etc... and try not to get too focussed in here - keep it within an hour or so!). If you can determine one area that's worse I'd start there...

For windows I believe you can also have inserts made, though obviously opening and closing is then a potential issue. There's also thick dampening curtains which may help a little.

Walls/floors you can insulate - adding mass is going to help the most but there are other options. I know of studio types that have taken doors off wardrobes and added furniture to absorb bass frequencies too, but really you've got to go with what's practical.  

At my last place my studio was in the cellar - I went the high density foam (100mm rockwool) in the walls route with acoustic dampening plasterboard, bass traps etc... it did a great job of sending the sound up through the floorboards into the living room above! We sold the house before I went the let's dump sand/high density foam into the floorboard spaces, but really headphones for 99% of the time was my solution, with speakers used only to briefly reference/fix at the final stages. 

Good luck, and if I can point you in the direction of ideas/useful websites I'm happy to - I'm here periodically but will try to remember to log in a bit more often. 

No problem at all! While I am fairly noise sensitive to sounds out of my control, really I come at this from the opposite: trying to stop other people hearing the sounds I make... I think being noise sensitive makes you more aware of the need to reduce your own as much as possible*. 

I didn't know about white noise headbands - I'd worry about tinnitus (a regular worry after decades of headphone wearing) but apparently they are a direct fix for that - guessing it's about getting levels as low as possible. 

 I hope you can get it all within acceptable levels - I certainly understand that feeling of being totally locked in to something outside of your own control. Good luck! 

(* I'm no saint though - I'm sure my neighbours hear the soundbar under my TV when I watch a film!)

Thanks Acquiesce .  I really appreciate all your helpful pointers. I have not heard of acoustic sealant, but it sounds good so I will look into it. I agree re sealing noise out being pretty challenging in the summer, but I am hoping that if I can seal it out when I first go to bed, I can open windows at 2am when the noise goes down and still get some cooling into the room.  A fan may be a good intermediate.  I have a white noise sleep headband, but it sometimes makes my ears ring or gives me more of a headache, so perhaps the fan would be enough to break up the repetitive music even if not drowning it out.  I will do some more research, but I am grateful for your informed experience! You must have been through the exact same experiences/feelings.  Hope your situation now is good.  Thanks again. x

Ah, hadn't thought about the link thing...

I've read acoustic sealant is pretty good, though don't have any direct experience there but understand the logic - it's flexible and, if done right, seals the space. I guess I'd try that with a reasonably plush carpet on top. More furniture/mass helps too - think creatively; if you have space under the bed for example fill it with high density rockwool or similar (even keeping it wrapped in the plastic coating it comes in will work). 

Web searching wise id look up DIY home studio soundproofing - obviously you're looking to keep noise out rather than in but it's the same principle. 

With the headphones thing I wonder whether a well positioned fan would cause enough white noise to drown out the outside - I lived abroad in a city for a bit and it really helped me to zone out of the outside noise. Took a long while to adjust to not having one on too.

Bests to you too, and remember: a soundproof room is an airtight room... I wouldn't recommend living in a vacuum though; air is pretty useful!  

Thanks Acquiesce . I am going to try window inserts and maybe some flooring, but other than that, you are right, headphones and white noise may be my only option.  It would be nice to be able to live freely, but I have to hold on until my kids are old enough for me to start saving up again...  Thanks for your help.  Any floor suggestions/websites would be great, but I am not sure if you are allowed to post them here?  best wishes. K