Spent $150 on a noise meter for my apartment and it changed how I see my own habits

I live in a pretty old building in Portland and was convinced my upstairs neighbor was being super loud at night. I bought this little Decibel X meter app for my phone, and it turns out most of the noise was actually my own fridge and air purifier running. It cost about $150 for a decent calibrated setup, and now I realize I was blaming someone else for my own environment. Has anyone else had a moment where measuring something totally shifted who you thought was at fault?

4 comments

4 Comments

fiona_west211mo ago

Shifting who you thought was at fault" is such a good way to put it. It's wild how our own stuff can become background noise we blame on others.

kelly6381mo ago

Yeah, I've blamed my bad mood on my partner when really I just needed a snack.

michaeltorres1mo agoTop Commenter

Hangry fights are a real thing, my blood sugar drops and I get so irritable.

anderson.piper6d ago

Oh man, this is so true! I once got genuinely mad at my boyfriend because he was breathing too loud. Turns out I was just super hungry and my brain picked the closest thing to blame. I apologized later with a mouth full of chips. It's crazy how we don't even notice our own basic needs sometimes until we're snapping at people for no good reason. I'm trying to get better at checking in with myself before I start a fight over nothing.