I have been renting a beautiful home for the past 10 years. I love my neighborhood and my landlord,who lives in another home about 100 feet away. Unfortunately, they put up some large aluminum tubular windchimes. I now have to listen to the clanging and tinkling morning, noon and nite. I have asked that they take them down…but I think they think I am kidding. I am going through cancer treatment and the sound is like ringing in my ears constantly when the wind blows. Last night, i got in my car and drove a few blocks away and tried to get some sleep. Is there anything that could quiet windchimes short of taking them down…a sock, clothes pin…anything? My landlords are very nice people, but they seem to have an attachment to these chimes. I really need some help with this. I try to keep my television on high enough to drown them out…but I dont want to keep it on all day and night.
Earplugs?
Invite the landlord round for a drink and put it straight. If they are really nice people they will sort it out.
If they’re the larger types with tubes about 1" in diameter, you could try stuffing something into them, but that’s going to muffle them pretty seriously and the owners will notice. Doing it without their permission is probably not a good idea. I agree with the above–talk to them about it.
I meant to say - If they really are nice people. A subtle but important difference.
Bingo. Explain the cancer thing. Apologize for having to ask. If there’s any resistance, then simply say you’ll have to give them notice, but you’ll have to find a new place first. Which is kind of taxing, with the cancer and all …
I had some lovely and very musical windchimes for years, out in the country. One day they disappeared off my front porch. I never did find out whether someone stole them because they wanted them, or a neighbor (could have been only two in hearing distance) was annoyed. Chuckle.
New place, but now I have my windchimes inside the U of our house, a sort of courtyard, to minimize impact on neighbors. It’s windy and I can hear them now! mmmmm 
Sorry about your cancer.
Buy a ‘white noise’ machine. Buy ear plugs (many places on line sell variety packs to find what works best for your situation).
Write the landlord a letter.
Tell them how much you like the house and them, etc.
Tell them you are dealing with cancer. Tell them how important sleep and rest is to that.
Tell them the windchimes are annoying, disturbing your rest and sleep.
Say you’re sorry to ask, but your health trumps manners.
Ask that they remove them while you recover, or at least move them to the opposite side of their house (if it applies).
Mail the letter.
If that doesn’t work, contact all local news that do human interest pieces.
Agree. Drinks, for a visit, and then ask/explain. If they didn’t budge you could say that you’d have to give notice. The cost to them (likely loss of at least one month’s rent, plus any painting, refurbishing, etc) for turning it around for re-rent might be enough of a deterrent for them to do something about it, if they really aren’t nice people. Especially if you’ve been a good tenant for them.
Years ago I thought about buying some nice wind chimes. I ended up not buying, but never once did the impact to neighbors cross my mind. Thanks to this thread, I know better. Maybe it’s a similar way for your landlords, maybe they just assume everyone in earshot enjoy the sound (without overtly thinking it through).
Moved to IMHO where you can continue to get opinions.
samclem, moderator
This. If they’re decent people, they’ll feel terrible that you’re going through chemo and help out by taking down the wind chimes.
After you’re better, well, you’ll have to deal and the other suggestions here are good. Ear plugs, white noise machine, etc, will help.
BTW, I find ear plugs helpful when I get migraines. I can’t handle high-pitched noises at all. The foam ones are pretty comfortable.
I, too, am sorry that you are ill.
I, too, am sorry you have to deal with windchimes. I hate the damn things with a passion. The house next door is decorated with several of them, even tho there’s no one there to hear them most of the time. I have to listen to them all the time.
I can’t add to what others have said. I just hope you get some much needed quiet and rest as quickly as possible.
Although I’m thinking that a good friend will buy you earplugs; a really good friend will take down … nah, that’d be illegal.
My old next-door neighbors used to have 13 fucking sets of wind chimes in their backyard. When they’d go out of town, I and the neighbor on the other side would go back there and remove the center dinger from them, which greatly reduced the incessant clatter. They weren’t the large tubular kind, which nothing can quieten. I feel your pain. If they didn’t respond to your first request, tell them again, in no uncertain terms.
I agree with the idea to invite them over for coffee or something. Ideally when it’s a particularly windy day. It’s very possible you can hear the things from you house better than they can from theirs, so having them over to hear it for themselves may garner more cooperation from them. It won’t work if they’re elderly and their hearing is shot, though!
Sorry you’re sick. My best friend was going through chemo when her building’s management scheduled a month’s worth of tuckpointing. It was really hard on her.
I sympathise - those things are so annoying.
My sis went through chemo while having the bathroom was being remodelled
There is no such thing as “Nice” wind chimes.
Just like there is no such thing as “nice” cigarette smoke.
And just like there is no such thing as “nice” dog shit.
Most people who smoke honestly can’t imagine why there is something wrong with it, and they will happily light up anywhere, anytime. (It’s only the fear of painful consequences that prevents them from smoking at work, or when visiting friends. )
And dog owners honestly can’t imagine why taking your dog for a [del]walk[/del] shit offends the neighbors.
It’s only fear of painful consequences that forces them to clean up the dog shit.
And wind-chime people are just as oblivious. Making noise that carries all over your property and infiltrates right into the neighbor’s bedroom…
Random, uncontrollable noise.
Nonstop noise.
Noise 24 hours a day.
Well, gee whiz, what could be wrong with that?
As for the OP—the only way I can see to handle this is to tell your neighbor/landlord straight to his face. And to make it less embarrassing for all of you, try to put the blame on your medical problems. Take the focus off of you, and put it on something objective…invent a story that that you have xyz problems with your hearing because of the cancer, and the doctors have told you that you need plenty of calm peace quiet.
That makes it seem less threatening, and easier for them to meet your demands without feeling like they lost a fight with a bitchy neighbor.
There is no such thing as “Nice” wind chimes.
Just like there is no such thing as “nice” cigarette smoke.
And just like there is no such thing as “nice” dog shit.
Most people who smoke honestly can’t imagine why there is something wrong with it, and they will happily light up anywhere, anytime. It’s only the fear of painful consequences that prevents them from smoking at work, or when visiting friends. “But it’s so relaxing!!! What, is something wrong?”
And dog owners honestly can’t imagine why taking your dog for a [del]walk[/del] shit offends the neighbors.
It’s only fear of painful consequences that forces them to clean up the dog shit. “But he’s such a cute puppy! What, did he do something wrong?”
And wind-chime people are just as oblivious. Making noise that carries all over your property and infiltrates right into the neighbor’s bedroom…
Random, uncontrollable noise.
Nonstop noise.
Noise 24 hours a day.
Well, gee whiz, what could be wrong with that? “It’s such a pleasant sound. What, is something wrong?”
As for the OP—the only way I can see to handle this is to tell your neighbor/landlord straight to his face. And to make it less embarrassing for all of you, try to put the blame on your medical problems. Take the focus off of you, and put it on something objective…invent a story that that you have xyz problems with your hearing because of the cancer, and the doctors have told you that you need plenty of calm peace quiet.
I agree with this so much I quoted BOTH times you said it. 
Sound pollution sucks.
Well…
Would silencing them at night be an option? IIRC, some of the large sets allow the ‘dinger’ to slide up the the string and magnetically catch on the ‘spreader’ - if this one does or can be made to (with some magnetic tape from HD), it’s just a matter of getting them to do it each evening.
I’m so sorry for your illness, and I hope your landlord will understand.
As annoying as they might be, vandalizing your neighbor’s property is a really, REALLY shitty thing to do. We have one set – they were a gift after my grandfather died. If someone broke them, I’d be really, REALLY pissed.*
*Granted, we don’t put our’s outside, but keep them by the window. However, even if we did, DON’T BREAK YOUR NEIGHBOR’S STUFF.