STOPPING THE NOISE BY NOT KEEPING QUIET

It’s not hard to imagine how irritated one can get if his or her sleep is rudely interrupted by unwelcome noise, night after night. And that was exactly the problem that was confronting Randolph and his family, thanks to his upstairs neighbour.

At all kinds of hours during the night, the sound of some kind of movement came through the ceiling and into Randolph’s master bedroom from the unit just above, which was occupied by Mr Arumugam. Understandably, Randolph was peeved and ready to pick a quarrel with him. But fortunately, he decided to seek CMC’s help, allowing this potentially explosive situation to be quite happily defused.

When the two came down for the mediation, it turned out that Arumugam had been having an equally trying time. His recently bereaved wife was suffering from a terminal illness, and needing assistance to go to the toilet several times a night. It was inevitable that some noise be made. However, after his wife’s death, Arumugam was no longer occupying the master bedroom which his wife had been sleeping in.

Not surprisingly, Randolph became quite sympathetic to Arumugam’s situation after knowing his sad story, and was happy not to pursue the matter any further. Human as we all are, we tend to be more forgiving when aware of the other party’s misfortunes. But that was not all. The mediators in this case took pains to ensure both parties explained their own situations clearly to the other. In disputes involving noise, it helps to find out how and why the noise has been generated – this was an important factor which helped Randolph and Arumugam to open up their eyes and heart and successfully reach a resolution to their problem.

Apart from the open and honest discussion, another plus point was the mutual respect both parties had as neighbours. They came willing and prepared to settle the issue, and with the help of the mediators, were able to come to an understanding with each other. Not only was the mystery of the unwelcome noise solved, a new friendship started to blossom between the neighbours!


[Names and other identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals whose stories are portrayed in this article.]