what about a thick rug?

also, you've only lived there for three weeks so you may just need more time to get used to it. My old apartment was right on a busy road and a fire station was right behind it. So for maybe my first month I was woken up all the time by honking horns and sirens. But then I got used to it and slept like a baby.

It seems like you tried everything: leaving a fan on, leaving a sound machine on, ear plugs, talking to the management.
If all this didn't help there's two things to do: sound-proof your wall or find another apartment.

Ask to switch apartments yourself if there is another one empty...that shouldn't be a problem if there is.

I do have to agree with mdbee - you've only given it a few weeks. And I doubt you can legally get out of your lease because your neighbor snores.

Your brain might get used to it and tune it out after a while. Is it possible to put your bed in a different room? There is also rubber material to use in conjunction with carpets and pads to help with soundproofing.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Soundproofing-a-Floor-on-a-Budget&id=381129

Randal Munroe offers a sort-of solution but I'm not sure how well it will work for you.

http://xkcd.com/316/

Can you send a recommendation for a sleep study anonymously?

My downstairs neighbor occasionally snores, too (luckily I think his girlfriend must poke him because it never lasts long), so I know just how disrupting it can be.

The kicker is that it's not just a noise you're hearing; it's a guttural sort of vibration, so even if you block out the noise itself, you're probably still feeling every snore.

I agree with mdbee -- a thick rug may help. Get some carpet padding to go under it, as well. I looked up sound-dampening flooring, and this carpet padding came up.

Otherwise, maybe my neighbor's solution holds some hope for you; do your best to set this guy up with a girl who will shut him up for you. Host a singles' party and invite some neighbors.

If your floors are so thin that you can hear someone snoring on the floor below, maybe you should reconsider living in that building. There are likely to be other problems with the building especially in earthquake country.

My husband is a LOUD snorer and has always been. I finally videotaped him and he was shocked. While not at all overweight, he had sleep apnea and now uses a CPAP machine. I think moving your bed, better floor soundproofing, ear plugs etc. are all good ideas, but honestly, sleep apnea is a life threatening condition and you'd be doing both of you a favor if he got it addressed. If you feel uncomfortable talking to him directly, could you anonymously tape him and give him a copy? Because there is NO WAY he will understand just how LOUD he is....trust me.....unless he hears it. Now if it's just snoring.....well, you do kinda get used to it. Kinda. Good luck!

a little off topic but I lived in a series of apartments and always thought I had a loud snorer neighbor; then moved to a house and still heard the noise...it was my cat! who always slept under the bed and I guess had a deviated septum or something.

My boyfriend snores something terrible... we actually have our bed in the dining room (we have a small apartment and never use a dining table anyway). We actually did this originally so I could use the bedroom as an art studio (and keep the cats away from the paint) but I also did it as a favor to the neighbors.

I get through it by using earplugs and taking benadryl every night. Helps with my allergies too! I would consider moving the bed somewhere else, be creative with your furniture arrangement!

imagine how the neighbor felt being approached about it by a third party.

i can also hear my neighbor snore so i moved my bed to another room or a while. They are an older couple, and i wonder if the were younger if i would hear some other noises?! I don't think a rug will help, but i'm shocked that earplugs did not. Eventually i learned to tune it out.

Unfortunately, snoring is not something one can just 'get used to' over time, like other sleep disruptions (most people can't sleep thru their kids crying, either). I'd tape the noise, and then play it back for the landlord - maybe he'll have a little sympathy and let you out of your lease or move you. I've lived with a person that had sleep apnea, which led to ME being sleep deprived, which led to every other aspect of my life eventually suffering as well. It's a serious health hazard (for both you and the snorer), but unless a person has experienced it, they don't have a clue about what you are going through. Only someone who has not had their sleep disrupted every 2 minutes or so, for months on end, will tell you to try to get used to it (which is why sleep deprivation....by waking someone up every 2 to 5 minutes....is used as a form of torture in some countries). Try to get out of your lease!

This situation is the worst! I was run out of my all-time-favorite apartment owing to bed bugs so I feel you pain. Anyway, if you can't remedy the situation, move. Try to work with the landlord to see if you can't find a better spot in the building or if s/he will negotiate with you on the lease terms because of the extenuating circumstance. Health and sanity come first!

"Any suggestions of places I can turn?"

Your local real-estate agent, for a new apartment.

Breaking a lease is a small price to pay for a little sleep.

I had a parting couple below us in an old apartment. They played music really loudly in the bedroom right below mine, and would do it randomly throughout the night.

I put a box fan under my bed, hanging on some bungee cords. That caused a nice white noise buzz that transmitted to the bed when I slept.

We eventually moved because it got to the point where I had three fans on in the room, and ear plugs.

I'm surprised the landlord did anything, there's not much they can do about that.

I am surrounded by snorers. The man upstairs, and both ladies on both sides.

Next month I will be in a home and I CAN NOT WAIT.

When my boyfriend snores, I wake him up and that always makes him stop. Maybe drop something on the floor, move a chair, tap dance etc.

You could move your bed. My current bedroom is below my neighbors living room and sometimes they have late night guest. If this is an option to consider, it might help.

Get to sleep earlier then them so that you're asleep and won't hear it as much (prob. not always possible).

I agree that thick rugs might really help.

CB2 has amazingly nice rugs for a good price - and you can even get them cheaper at the Crate and Barrel outlet in Berkeley... nice thick wool. I also like the ones from EQ3. You could put some thick foam insulation underneath, like egg crate type...

Rirakkuma!!!!

What sound machine did you get? Some are better than others at covering up noises.

Rhonda, are you sure that it is actually snoring that you're hearing? The first part of your question made it sound like a constant sound without the rhythms of snoring--repetitive sound that gets louder, then stops for a while when the snorer changes position. I wonder if it could be some sort of machine . . . . ?

If you can find some informational pamphlets on sleep apnea and how dangerous it is, or even print off pages from the intarweb, and put them in your neighbor's mail box, perhaps this will help provide the necessary clue.

As STh said, are you sure it's snoring? If not, you could simply knock on his door some day and ask him if he's been kept awake by a loud grumbling noise at night. Tell him it sounds like either very loud snoring or like a machine, so you're not really blaming him per se. If he doesn't get it, then I don't see any other option besides what the others have mentioned. Good luck to you!

Oh I have no solution, just sympathy... When I first got married I thought I would never sleep again. My husband is a major snorer... over time I got used to it (like traffic and trains) one does. Now if he is away I constantly wake up because of the quiet!

If the headphones didn't work cause they were uncomfortable, try these babies: www.sleepphones.com. I love mine, and my sweetie snores.

Do NOT ever wake a snorer up to make them "stop" snoring. As someone who snores (thank you deviated septum), I can tell you that when I'm more tired, I snore more. So, constantly waking a snorer up will just piss them off and then make them snore more.

The problem is not that there is a snorer for a neighbor, but that Rhonda moved into a building with crappy walls, and contrary to what she says, she's not a heavy sleeper (I'm a medium-heavy sleeper, and I've slept through smoke and burglar alarms, as well as slept through fire engines and ambulances). Whenever I've viewed an apartment, I've asked a list of very specific questions -- and that list starts with how quiet are the walls and floors.

BTW - the original query does not categorically state the neighbor is a snorer -- that's just speculation. It's possible the neighbor has a noisy sound machine, or other machine (would everyone be so outraged if it were a machine for a health issue?). I've heard a lot of snoring, and none of it has ever sounded like a "roar" or lasted non-stop throughout a night.

If it is actually him snoring, I would jump on the floor whenever he wakes you up. Just once. He won't know why he woke up, and the snoring will stop for a moment.

My cats have been waking up at 4:15 every morning for the 2 years we have lived in our townhouse. I had no idea why. The other morning my neighbor texted me at 4:15 a.m. that my car windows were down (appreciated the courtesy, but was ticked off about the time). The next day I asked her wtf she was doing outside at that time of morning. She said she smokes a cigerette and walks around at that time. Now I know what is waking up the cats and I am trying to find a nice way of telling her she is messing with my sleep. I am not a renter so I have to tread lightly on this issue because she is not going anywhere any time soon.

I have the same problem! My neighbor next door snores and i hear a vibrational noise for most of the night. At most it will stop for a few minutes. I've tried wearing ear plugs, bought a humidifier hoping the noise would drown it out, and moved my bed. Nothing works. I am going to talk to the landlord and see if there is any legal way to get out of the lease.

Poking a snorer wakes them up, which causes them to become sleep deprived, which causes obesity which causes even worse snoring. Snoring is involuntary. You can't make somebody "learn" to sleep without snoring by banging on the floor or poking them etc.

Modern, decent Apartments/Condos are built by professionals, using sound deadening materials/construction so that normal noises of life (sneezing, farting, snoring, coughing, microwaves, alarm clocks) etc. do not transfer from one apartment to another, only extraordinary sounds like foot stomping & loud music. Slum lord, penny pincher, cheap crap apartments will, of course, have no such technology and you'll prolly hear the neighbor cat's whiskers twitching.

You'll need to have discussions with landlord & neighbor about sound deadening floor or ceiling treatments, reconstructive sound proofing etc.

If you want to try white noise sound masking, I find that an mp3 player connected to a typical 3 channel (Right, left, subwoofer) amplified speaker set (normally made for home computers) works best. Put the speakers on each side of your bed and the subwoofer under or beside (close to you ears and surrounding you is best) Use a falling rain type sound file from WhiteNoiseDotCom (about 60min long) and set it to continuously repeat. If you're smart with sound editing (Audacity), you can combine WhiteNoise files together to cover more of the low-freq range. Now crank up the volume and drown out the snoring.

Ever heard of SleepPhones? They're soft headphones that you can sleep in. Check them out - http://www.sleepphones.com/