noises outside massage room

The one room I work out of has no heat or Ac in it so I
usually am running a little heater or a fan. That helps
drown out noise, as that room is in a fitness center and you
can hear the bass from the aerobic classes.

T Brian Ligotti <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:2090-404A6BA9-91@storefull-
3257.bay.webtv.net...

Quoted message said:

Hello....I'm sure we all deal with some sort of noise
outside our massage rooms/offices. People talking, doors
opening & closing, etc.

Question....We all use music, but I was wondering if
anyone here found a certain item that helped drowned
out the sounds, but wasn't a distraction to the
massage. What ever you found that really helped
drowned out the sounds you hear from outside your
room, please post it!

I just bought one of those 54" bubble lamps (fills
with water). The noise from the pump has helped some
or me.

Brian

If you want to keep the sound out, here are some options:
1) Most of today's construction is frame and drywall
(typically thin drywall)...you can reduce the
transmission of sound by using thicker drywall or two
layers of it, having studs spaced more closely than 16",
filling the walls with sand, etc. all to reduce the
possibility of walls vibrating -- pros: lets you keep
room looking normal (whatever that means to you); cons:
most expensive solution & you generally have to own the
building and be willing to remodel
2) Heavy drapes and fabrics reduce the possibility of the
air in the room transmitting the vibration (sound) to
your client...hardwood floors, tile, etc increase the
possibility -- pros: relatively inexpensive and anyone
can do it; cons: may not be the look you wanted and
makes the environment less "allergy friendly"
3) Use sound treatments on your walls such as Sonex panels
-- pros: most effective per dollar spent (but stilll not
cheap); cons: have to think up some way to incorporate
"recording studio" styling into your decor
4) If you have a larger room, you can add office-type, fabric-
covered partitions (or make your own) -- pros:
versatile, easily modified, non-permanent, relatively
inexpensive; cons: once again another strange look to
deal with and the cubicle look may not be relaxing to
some clients

Hope this helps! George "Brian Ligotti"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:2090-404A6BA9-91@storefull-
3257.bay.webtv.net...

Quoted message said:

Hello....I'm sure we all deal with some sort of noise
outside our massage rooms/offices. People talking, doors
opening & closing, etc.

Question....We all use music, but I was wondering if
anyone here found a certain item that helped drowned
out the sounds, but wasn't a distraction to the
massage. What ever you found that really helped
drowned out the sounds you hear from outside your
room, please post it!

I just bought one of those 54" bubble lamps (fills
with water). The noise from the pump has helped some
or me.

Brian

"Brian Ligotti" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello....I'm sure we all deal with some sort of noise
outside our massage rooms/offices. People talking, doors
opening & closing, etc.

Question....We all use music, but I was wondering if
anyone here

Quoted message said:

found a certain item that helped drowned out the sounds,
but wasn't a

distraction to the massage. What ever you found that really
helped drowned out the sounds you hear from outside your
room, please post it!

Brian, after asking many, many clients when I first started
in massage therapy about the noises outside the
room.....most said they hadn't noticed the noises. Of course
that was noises like doors opening/closing, the occasional
car horn from the parking lot, etc., not someone talking
right outside the door. The lesson I learned was that I was
much more sensitive to noise than the client receiving the
massage. So, I continue to play music at a moderate, non-
intrusive, level and forget about the noise.

Ben Crabtree, RMT, CNMT San Antonio, Texas

As a client, I've requested massages for the benefit of
helping my muscles and joints feel better. I'm not doing it
for the relaxation. My wife can give me a relaxing massage.

It's inevitable that I'm more relaxed at the end of my
massage than at the beginning, but that's not the point of a
massage for me.

My therapist was also bothered by noises from upstairs and
next door, but they were of no concern to me. Of course,
we're not talking power tools or throbbing bass from an
aerobics class.

With my very limited massage experience, I would say that
I'm focused on what the therapist is doing and not on what's
going on next door. Music at a level that is not
distracting, but loud enough takes care of general
reasonable levels of noise.

But, speaking of music, dear god in heaven, please play
something besides enya (or whatever that is)!

JS

Ben & Lydia said:

"Brian Ligotti" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:2090-404A6BA9-91@storefull-
3257.bay.webtv.net...

Quoted message said:

Hello....I'm sure we all deal with some sort of noise
outside our massage rooms/offices. People talking, doors
opening & closing, etc.

Question....We all use music, but I was wondering if
anyone here

Quoted message said:

found a certain item that helped drowned out the sounds,
but wasn't a

distraction to the massage. What ever you found that
really helped drowned out the sounds you hear from outside
your room, please post it!

Brian, after asking many, many clients when I first
started in massage therapy about the noises outside the
room.....most said they hadn't noticed the noises. Of
course that was noises like doors opening/closing, the
occasional car horn from the parking lot, etc., not
someone talking right outside the door. The lesson I
learned was that I was much more sensitive to noise than
the client receiving the massage. So, I continue to play
music at a moderate, non-intrusive, level and forget about
the noise.

Ben Crabtree, RMT, CNMT San Antonio, Texas

Actually its not that bad not having heat/ac directly in the
room. I worked in a room with AC but since each room in the
office was different (as far as some getting sun, others
not) mine would get freezing cold, plus you could feel the
air come at you from above.

My room is toasty in the winter and cool enough in the
summer. It is amazing but it works well. And trust me, I am
way to picky about things.

Tiffany B L <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:13012-404D7D7E-461@storefull-
3256.bay.webtv.net...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the responses....Tiff, no Heat or AC, geez,
that is a bummer. Speaking of no heat, I just bought this
new space heater, and I wanted to mention the name...I
will write it down at work and post it. Its the best space
heater I ever used. It really heats the room evenly. It
was $70, worth every cent.

Ben, you made some great points, and I have
tossed that around in my head too. I worked at a
club several years ago where music played loud
through out the club, but I still did well
there. And like you, I have asked clients about
noises after their massage, and they didn't know
what I was talking about. The reason I'm even
worrying, is that I'm moving locations, and I
can see the new place won't be as quiet as the
old place (but the rent difference is $500 a
month!). My new room is in the hall before the
locker rooms. Mainly dealing with doors opening
and closing from the people enter the locker
room. It a place where you have to swipe a card
to get in the door, and the doors "click" when
they shut.

I'm painting the room wednesday, its about 9x16.
But of course listening to all the little noises
when the room is empty and nothing is on or
running, makes things seem louder. I should post
before and after photo's of the room. It was
used by another therapist before me, and I have
no idea how he brought people in the room. It
was dirty and smelled like [censored]. The joke at the
club was, he charged $60 for the massage, but
$10 of that was for the oxygen tank used during
the massage, LOL. I plan to get some pics before
I paint. I just wish I would have taken photo's
before I threw away everything in the
room...including the massage table! I found some
old food under the table. The place was a sight
to see when I walked in the first time.

Brian (massageBL)

On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 19:56:05 -0500, "Tiffany" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

The one room I work out of has no heat or Ac in it so I
usually am running a little heater or a fan. That helps
drown out noise, as that room is in a fitness center and
you can hear the bass from the aerobic classes.

T

<chuckle> It could be worse. My massage school shared a
building with a movie theatre. During massage sessions you
could hear the rumbles and explosions from the soundtrack,
and when a movie let out, one set of exits was into a
cinderblock tunnel (i.e. *lots* of echos) that ran right
past our work area.

-Chris Zakes LDP Massage Texas

"If I've reached the place where I'm a good influence on
anybody, it's time I cultivated some new vices."

-Oscar Jensen in "Space Cadet" by Robert Heinlein

Outside noises when I'm getting a massage don't bother me
any more than outside noises when I'm sleeping and having a
good dream. In fact, for me they tend to make the dream (and
massage) a little more interesting than they probably would
have otherwise been. When my massage therapist gets me going
I'm really out there.

A little external stimulus that my subconscious turns into
"something".

Damn I like massage.

I suppose if I were giving a massage, I might be annoyed.

Go figure.

CB

< Question....We all use music, but I was wondering if
anyone here found a certain item that helped drowned out
the sounds>

Placement is important. Put noisemakers or music boxes or
speakers at table level, facing client's ears. Stereo setup
with a speaker facing each ear is good.

You may not be able to drown out but you can interfere
with unwanted sound. I have music speakers all over the
room and also use a "heartbeat" thangey when there is a
lot of noise. LK