This list of 12 options is from the San Francisco airport's online complaint form. You may choose only one of the 12 options to show the airport how the noise bothers you. 

conversation
hearing
meal time
quality of life
outdoors
reading
TV
telephone
sleep
study
work at home
loud disturbance
This sample is fairly representative of how difficult it is to complain to the airport about our local runway noise.


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People's comments in small claims court:

*double paned glass makes no difference

*it's not about the money; it's about changing the noise

*noise shakes windows and dishes

*very hard to get used to

*disrupts family life

*cannot open windows in summer

*something happened 2015-2016

*I miss fresh air, listening to birds, etc.

*pillow over head and earplugs do not block the jet noise

*have spent tens of thousands on insulated glass and doors to   no avail

*house bought in 2014 was blessedly quiet

*takeoff noise all day long

*no change in level of noise pollution

*feels like I'm on the plane "rolling out"

* plays audiobooks and music to drown out jet noise

* believes planes are powering engines harder after the 2014-   2015 airport runway project

*both children need sound machines to sleep

*when grandparents visit, they complain about airport noise
*cannot use outdoor area

*worse certain times of the year

*when assessed house before buying it, was convinced the airport noise wasn't a problem; sickened to move in and find out it is

*complained repeatedly to airport about noise to no avail

*Runway 1 is the problem

* Hearing ability, blood pressure, sleep deprivation causing medical issues. Many studies on aircraft noise bear this out.

* smells jet fuel

* noise increased about 2015

* not about the money; about the quality of life

* noise interrupts sleep

* hears rumbling

* noise surrounds whole house

* What is THAT?

* heard incredible rumbling in church ceilings

* This is a problem

* Feels helpless

* frustrated that complains to SFO get nowhere

*hears noise in yard, gym, school

*noise wakes her

*continues to have migraines and headaches

*insulation didn't help

*needs iPad with music to fall asleep; ear painful in morning

*SFO not doing enough to help the community

*spoke at SFO roundtable meeting to no avail

* SFO has no backblast wall containments or other structures

*before he bought his house, he listening in a nearby parked     car several times; heard no noise; shocked to hear the noise
  after he moved in

*feels like SFO "unfixed" something in 2016

*never felt vibrations, irritation, sound, noise, rumble before

*When family comes to stay, they ask "What was that in the middle of the night?"

*noise is so loud that conversation stops when walking

*awakened by noise 2 AM

*windows rattle now

*house vibrates now

*it's a lovely environment that gets blasted

*back blast disrupts quality of life

* windows, water heater rattles

*interrupts business calls

*gets anxious when family comes to visit

* grandchildren cry

*at dinner table, conversation stops

*gave up complaining to SFO

*no more enjoyment of home and property

*situation is ridiculous and it's getting worse

* during past 4 years, noise level has gone up dramatically

* daily lives affected, intrusive rumblings, windows vibrate

* worst in the night

* difficult to sleep

* observed that airport metal barriers have been replace with something lower, not curved, not substantial

*all complaints to SFO have been ignored

*hopes CCSF will no longer be the neighborhood bully

* causing some personal health risks especially with late night rev ups

*when looked at SFO's sound recordings, not much there. But the noise was eye-popping when he was present during the recording.

*after a 2019 SFO runway takeoff issue, all planes are ordered to take off on full power

*commercial pilot concerned about family's health, sleep

*sat in his car and listened before bought his home...

*wife wears earplugs

*his 2-year-old child has trouble sleeping at night

*husband wears earplugs

*must close windows

*son wears noise-canceling headphones

*put in double pane windows in 2000 but still hear roar at all hours

*has tried to keep a record but noise causes her to lose concentration

*distracting, agitating

*roars heard over the stove ventilation

*sometimes noise is every 2-3 minutes

*frustration mounts

*trying to block out the noise doesn't work

*beautiful days, weather, BBQ, garden - it's soo loud

* it's apocalyptic

*houseguests from Spain noticed the noise; 

*dinner party with neighbors - noise topic brought up

*smell of jet fuel

*bought home 20 years ago; bucolic; then back blast started a few years ago; particularly bothersome in summer

* grandchild couldn't sleep due to noise

*brother-in-law couldn't sleep due to noise

* sounds like a drag racer is preparing to go

*windows rattle

*two scientists work with teleconferences at home but must stop if airport noise interrupts it

*How can you defend anything that's ruining our lives? I'm deaf in one ear.

*Neighbors wear headphones when walk their dogs.

*spent less and less time in back yard

* Children from visiting Europeans cry at night, thinking it's an earthquake

* SFO ignored her complaints.

*Is concerned she must admit all this if fills out full disclosure

when she sells her house

*House shakes at least two nights a week

* Home has been remodeled; is structurally sound, and yet must close all windows on weekends

* can smell fuel

* much house shaking in last few years

* the shaking now triggers his security alerts in his driveway

* spent $100,000 from 2016 to 2018 to reduce the rattle; thought he was the only one hearing it, but all neighbors agreed.

* one loud sound makes him stop what he's doing; waits for it to stop; windows shake; glasses in cupboard tinkle

*visitors comment on it

*low frequency bothers him

*noise has become very different over last 3 or so years; must close windows, house shakes, has to stop till it passes

* really bad, hurtful, harmful

* gets dismissive replies from SFO when complains

* the peace and quiet of the new home was a key feature in buying it for the 2 doctors who need calm; now noise takes a personal toll on the family; noise wakes up children in the early morning; didn't help to upgrade to double pane; home is no longer a sanctuary

* noise rattles bedroom door frames; windows closed at night; it's like living next to a constant neighbor with OCD who carpet-vacuums his car each night; things started to change about 2016

* things changed; noise cuts through earplugs; new windows and doors didn't stop the noise; plates, glasses rattle and move on tabletops.

*constant roars and vibrations on take off; can't open windows in summer; built outdoor area at home in early 2018; Mom and old friends come down for lunch; one lady comment on the jets throughout the day

* this is my first time in court in a lifetime and I don't take it lightly

* like there's a Harley in my back yard

* my main issue is to get to sleep and stay asleep; last couple of years has gotten extremely worse; "There's a jet engine at the corner of Balboa and ______", he reports. Sometimes shakes the rebuilt garage; levels of noise run from screeching to consistent; comparable to war sounds; 

* has lived in 5 Hillsborough/Burlingame locales until bought home with airport view; noticed increase in noise with glass rattling; in 2015 had back yard party for daughter; had to keep turning up outdoor speakers; can't leave windows open at night; rumbling noise; absolutely becoming a nuisance; changing the way he feels about his house

* previous house near El Camino in Millbrae was too noise so moved in the hills to this quiet home; was sooo quiet; now noise is getting out of hand; all night; wakes her up 5 AM; rarely goes outside to back yard; windows and doors shut tight; 

* moved from East Coast February 2018 to SM Park; not prepared for the noise that began April 2018; irregular, stops/starts/intensity changes; difficult to ignore; very hot in the house in summer with all openings closed; can't eat lunch outdoors; son Harvard medical school who says noise is too distracting for him to study on visits home; has made up to 30 reports a day to SFO; when she remarked to SFO about a calm weekend, someone said Runway 1R was closed for repair that weekend; noise is grating; runway noise dictates her sleeping hours

*Rattling, unsettling; works from home; so distracting, it's hard to work with numbers; asked son to stop talking and wait till sound subsided; get awakened by runway noise; 

*lives 3 miles from end of 1L and1R. Lots of time in home and garden; now needs to go in house when roar is too much; feels like she's on a plane going down 1L and 1R. Used to be blast fences at the end of 1L and 1R but not now; she sees no noise abatement structures there now.

* Had double paned windows installed; overhead craft not a problem; a few years ago, began to hear runway noise several times a minute; noise has profound effect. Has tried Rx to sleep. too drowsy. Mood alteration, health issue. 

* loves Hillsborough, had been in downtown SF; noticed significant airport noise 11 PM - 1 AM; morning-evening- difficult to sleep for whole family; tried sfo online complaint form but gave up; no captcha visible; website not working; 

*has lived around here her whole life; familiar with different runway noises; may 2018 had to move guests back into house due to backblast noise; loves to garden while listening to Giants on radio but backblast drowns out the radio now; calling the Noise Abatement Office aggravated her more than not calling them

* feels increasingly helpless to noise; added sound-reducing insulation, double-layer sheetrock. Hears the war and rumbles. The more she complains, the. more aggravated she gets.

* furnace and hot water heater rattle. Works at home. Phone calls interrupted; grandchildren cry.

* bought home 2010. Now notices the rumbling, vibrating

* has small children they put to bed 7 PM; makes room dark and quiet with shades down; sound machine; mom then tries to sleep on couch but hears backblast clearly; has fancy sound machine to drown out noise; doesn't get quality sleep; 

*Noise bothers wife; shutter, French doors, windows shake, disappointed, no peace and quiet at night; 

* on cold winter night, by warm fire and glass of wine, a whoosh of runway noise made a barrage down the fireplace. 

* When daughter said she'd like to get married one day in our garden, I knew that couldn't happen while we're wrestling with the airport and the CCSF. Her ceremony could very well get drowned out by jet back blasts.

*Denied fresh ventilation 

* Felt like an Air Force Base moved in overnight

*Can feel vibration in bed at night