Your neighbor’s dog barks at random times during the night.
You’ve again gotten jolted out of your slumber by a barking concerto in the early morning hours and can’t fall back asleep.
Lying there you wonder, “How the heck do I block this barking noise?”
One pup starts barking for good reason, but shortly thereafter other dogs in the vicinity get woken up and join in.
The quieter your neighborhood is the more these barks will stand out.
Even when sudden noises don’t wake you up, they can arouse you, i.e., take you out of deep sleep or prevent you from getting to the most restful sleep stages.
The result is that you may feel like crap even when you have had a full night’s sleep.
How loud and at what pitch do dogs bark?
Measured at a close distance (typically 1 m) dogs can bark at a sound level of 100 dBA.
Thank you for this excellent info. I have always had a problem with barking dogs above all other source of noise. I’m incredibly sensitive to it. A neighbour recently got a very annoying Jack Russell that barks for a hobby. It wakes me from my sleep and I find it difficult to resettle. White noise probably takes a little getting used to, especially given that up to recently I’ve slept in a silent environment.
Hello Anthony,
yes, getting used to white noise also took me a bit initially.
As mentioned in the post, wearing earplugs helps me to keep the white noise reaching my ears at a comfy level, and I can mask a lot louder barking. This is one of my favorite setups.
All the best.
First and foremost, bless you for writing on this.
My only question to you is you mentioned when utilizing the ear plugs + white noise combination you “set the white noise volume to a comfortable but clearly noticeable level. (To people not wearing earplugs, this would appear quite loud.” Would you consider this to be so loud a neighbor downstairs could hear it? Someone in the next room might be disturbed? How noticeable is this would you say?
I’m just trying to gauge how loud this could potentially be prior to purchasing the white noise machine (as my roommate sleeps in the neighboring room) and since I live in an apartment with neighbors downstairs.
Thank you for your feedback. That’s a good question.
I use this combination earplugs + white noise machine quite often, and I also have downstairs neighbors.
I doubt they hear anything when I play the machine at my usual volume; they certainly have never mentioned anything.
With “it would appear loud,” I am referring to a person sleeping in the same room.
Following your question, I measured this morning what “clearly noticeable” means to me:
We are talking 50-55 dBA at about 3 feet (1m) away.
Now as to your roommate in the next room: whether they hear anything depends on the sound isolation between your two rooms and how quiet their room is in general.
If the walls are very thin and/or you have sound leaking through the room door, they could hear a slight constant sound curtain (like coming from an HVAC system).
Usually though, it is startling noises and changes in noise level that wake people up and fragment their sleep.
Caveat: If you need to block very loud barking noise, you might have to crank up the white noise machine much louder than what I usually do, say to 70 dB.
But then your roommate might take issue.
Alternatively, you could use earplugs+sleep headphones instead.
Thank you for this article. I play white noise every night from Bluetooth speakers. Sometimes, I have to set it very loud PLUS wear ear plugs, but even with this setup, I can still hear the very loud barking of my family’s Belgian Malinois downstairs. I was wondering if the Lectrofan gets very loud. I might consider getting one.
that is a beautiful breed.
At the white noise setting #6 mentioned in this article, the Lectrofan goes loud (about 80 decibels at a distance of 3ft.). Personally I wouldn’t want to play it at max. volume.
Important: To work well, your white noise needs to be loud enough and you need to adjust the pitch to cover the dominant frequencies in your dog’s barking.
Why is your dog is barking? Is it perhaps only doing its job and being a good watch dog?
Here is another idea: some people play white noise (at a moderate volume) to their dog to keep it from hearing and reacting to every little noise.
My dogs bark during the day while my wife and I are at work, bothering the neighbors. Will this system counter their barking enough to make it un-noticeable to the neighbors. Good chance they will not be happy if I offer them ear plugs.
this post is geared towards people who want to shield themselves from barking coming from outside.
I assume your dogs are inside the house. I would not try to play white noise inside the house to drown out their barking. Even if possible, that volume would most certainly not be good for your dogs.
That being said, some people play white noise a moderate level (!) to their dog to calm it and make it less sensitive to exterior sounds.
Thank you for your article, I purchased the Lectrofan and I’ve only used it a couple of times, even with earplugs it can be a bit loud, do they take getting used to? My problem is a barking dog outside my window, I am on the third floor but my bedroom window faces the neighbours back yard. I also wear foam earplugs as you suggested, but I’m not sure if I will be able to sleep to the sounds of the Lectrofan. Do you have any other suggestions? I’ve heard that noise cancelling earbuds can affect hearing in the long term, any ideas are much appreciated.
I often sleep with the Lectrofan, so I have definitely gotten used to it.
If even with earplugs, the Lectrofan is too loud at the volume you need it to mask the barks, I would try to optimize the earplug fit first and/or try different foam earplugs.
The difference between well-fitting and not so well-fitting plugs is huge.
Consider this: If you are getting 20 decibels noise reduction, you are getting about a 75% loudness reduction, while with 30 decibels, you are getting nearly 90% loudness reduction. In many cases, getting an extra 10 decibels from your earplugs is very doable. That would make the Lectrofan appear to play a lot quieter.
Noise cancelling earbuds would not be my first choice against barking. Most of them are quite a bit worse in the mid frequencies (in which many dogs’ peaks lie) than earplugs, in which case you would have to play your white noise even louder. Also, you need a pair that fits well with an all-night battery.
If you are a back-sleeper, over-ear noise cancelling headphones are quite effective (again you have to play a white noise app), in particular against lower pitched dogs, but they are expensive.
A more economical option for a back sleeper could be earmuffs with built-in speakers (plus white noise app), such as Worktunes Connect. They are quite effective and they don’t use active noise cancellation, but the headband (clamping) force is a lot higher than that of normal headphones.
I would prefer earplugs against the barks, if at all possible.
Thank you very much! It’s a very very usable article, one of the best about this problem!
Thank you.
Hello Joze,
Many thanks for stopping by and your very encouraging feedback.
All the best.
Thank you for this excellent info. I have always had a problem with barking dogs above all other source of noise. I’m incredibly sensitive to it. A neighbour recently got a very annoying Jack Russell that barks for a hobby. It wakes me from my sleep and I find it difficult to resettle. White noise probably takes a little getting used to, especially given that up to recently I’ve slept in a silent environment.
Hello Anthony,
yes, getting used to white noise also took me a bit initially.
As mentioned in the post, wearing earplugs helps me to keep the white noise reaching my ears at a comfy level, and I can mask a lot louder barking. This is one of my favorite setups.
All the best.
Hi Helmut,
First and foremost, bless you for writing on this.
My only question to you is you mentioned when utilizing the ear plugs + white noise combination you “set the white noise volume to a comfortable but clearly noticeable level. (To people not wearing earplugs, this would appear quite loud.” Would you consider this to be so loud a neighbor downstairs could hear it? Someone in the next room might be disturbed? How noticeable is this would you say?
I’m just trying to gauge how loud this could potentially be prior to purchasing the white noise machine (as my roommate sleeps in the neighboring room) and since I live in an apartment with neighbors downstairs.
Thanks again for the article 😀
Hi Ahmed,
Thank you for your feedback. That’s a good question.
I use this combination earplugs + white noise machine quite often, and I also have downstairs neighbors.
I doubt they hear anything when I play the machine at my usual volume; they certainly have never mentioned anything.
With “it would appear loud,” I am referring to a person sleeping in the same room.
Following your question, I measured this morning what “clearly noticeable” means to me:
We are talking 50-55 dBA at about 3 feet (1m) away.
Now as to your roommate in the next room: whether they hear anything depends on the sound isolation between your two rooms and how quiet their room is in general.
If the walls are very thin and/or you have sound leaking through the room door, they could hear a slight constant sound curtain (like coming from an HVAC system).
Usually though, it is startling noises and changes in noise level that wake people up and fragment their sleep.
Caveat: If you need to block very loud barking noise, you might have to crank up the white noise machine much louder than what I usually do, say to 70 dB.
But then your roommate might take issue.
Alternatively, you could use earplugs+sleep headphones instead.
All the best.
Thank you for this article. I play white noise every night from Bluetooth speakers. Sometimes, I have to set it very loud PLUS wear ear plugs, but even with this setup, I can still hear the very loud barking of my family’s Belgian Malinois downstairs. I was wondering if the Lectrofan gets very loud. I might consider getting one.
Hi Aviva,
that is a beautiful breed.
At the white noise setting #6 mentioned in this article, the Lectrofan goes loud (about 80 decibels at a distance of 3ft.). Personally I wouldn’t want to play it at max. volume.
Important: To work well, your white noise needs to be loud enough and you need to adjust the pitch to cover the dominant frequencies in your dog’s barking.
Why is your dog is barking? Is it perhaps only doing its job and being a good watch dog?
Here is another idea: some people play white noise (at a moderate volume) to their dog to keep it from hearing and reacting to every little noise.
All the best.
My dogs bark during the day while my wife and I are at work, bothering the neighbors. Will this system counter their barking enough to make it un-noticeable to the neighbors. Good chance they will not be happy if I offer them ear plugs.
Tim
Hello Tim,
this post is geared towards people who want to shield themselves from barking coming from outside.
I assume your dogs are inside the house. I would not try to play white noise inside the house to drown out their barking. Even if possible, that volume would most certainly not be good for your dogs.
That being said, some people play white noise a moderate level (!) to their dog to calm it and make it less sensitive to exterior sounds.
Thank you for your article, I purchased the Lectrofan and I’ve only used it a couple of times, even with earplugs it can be a bit loud, do they take getting used to? My problem is a barking dog outside my window, I am on the third floor but my bedroom window faces the neighbours back yard. I also wear foam earplugs as you suggested, but I’m not sure if I will be able to sleep to the sounds of the Lectrofan. Do you have any other suggestions? I’ve heard that noise cancelling earbuds can affect hearing in the long term, any ideas are much appreciated.
Thanks again.
Regards: Grace.
Hello Grace,
I often sleep with the Lectrofan, so I have definitely gotten used to it.
If even with earplugs, the Lectrofan is too loud at the volume you need it to mask the barks, I would try to optimize the earplug fit first and/or try different foam earplugs.
The difference between well-fitting and not so well-fitting plugs is huge.
Consider this: If you are getting 20 decibels noise reduction, you are getting about a 75% loudness reduction, while with 30 decibels, you are getting nearly 90% loudness reduction. In many cases, getting an extra 10 decibels from your earplugs is very doable. That would make the Lectrofan appear to play a lot quieter.
Noise cancelling earbuds would not be my first choice against barking. Most of them are quite a bit worse in the mid frequencies (in which many dogs’ peaks lie) than earplugs, in which case you would have to play your white noise even louder. Also, you need a pair that fits well with an all-night battery.
If you are a back-sleeper, over-ear noise cancelling headphones are quite effective (again you have to play a white noise app), in particular against lower pitched dogs, but they are expensive.
A more economical option for a back sleeper could be earmuffs with built-in speakers (plus white noise app), such as Worktunes Connect. They are quite effective and they don’t use active noise cancellation, but the headband (clamping) force is a lot higher than that of normal headphones.
I would prefer earplugs against the barks, if at all possible.
All the best.