Soundproof door against screaming child

[Kitty]

Hi. I need help. I live on the second floor of a one-family house. The first floor is separated from me by a hollow door, which is at the bottom of my staircase. Every single sound flows right up into my home. Now they have a babysitter with her two year old running and screaming six hours a day. I am going mad. My landlord won't do anything, and knows the tenants, and egg-crate foam is out because he is a fireman. What can I do? I am disabled and have migraines and the screaming is stabbing me right in the head. I'm already living with earplugs but the pitch is going right through them. Being disabled and poor, I can't move and cannot afford to buy a door which landlord would not put up anyway. And the space is about two feet wide so I can't put up a bookcase or piece of furniture. I am in such misery and pain, and would appreciate any safe or inexpensive things I could tack up somehow? I would appreciate any kind of help at all, and thank you.

[Randy S]

Read this page on soundproofing your door.A solid core door would yeild better results.
http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/soundproofing_doors.htm
I would suggest showing it to your landlord as well. If your disabled you might need some help putting these products in.

[Kitty]

Thank you Randy, for the advice. However the landlord won't change the door or allow me to put anything like the 1 inch attachable things. Is there anything l could hang myself to help? Is it true about the eggfoam roll and fire? Thanks again. I'm really running out of ideas.

[Randy S]

Yes, the eggfoam is usually Polyurethane Foams which is not a Class A fire rated material.
The only other thing I could suggest would be to hang a heavy vinyl curtain, this could dampen 10% of the noise.

[Kitty]

Dear Randy, thanks again for the help. I'm sorry, I just re-read my post and it sounded like I was thinking of hanging myself! Couldn't stop laughing...

Thanks again, I'll keep trying!

[Randy S]

Your Welcome,
Best of Luck hopefully your landlord will cooperate.

[joel]

I realize that this may sound absurd, but have you considered using a headset?  There are several available at http://www.soundproofing.org/sales/ear_muffs.htm
Some are quite comfortable, with adjustable ear piece and liquid filled padding.  These also come with a special (free) closed cell insert material to increase the effectiveness of even the cheapest models.