Wood privacy fence - planning over the top? Alternatives?

Yes, objectifying your feelings could be even more useful than taking measures right now. Then the 1000 EUR from the beginning of the thread might even be better invested in therapy (I don’t mean that condescendingly). It could well be a neurosis. After my experiences with my noisy neighbor, I also became oversensitive at some point and reacted sensitively even to objectively tolerable noise levels. I didn’t need any specific therapy then, but with time and a change of focus, I am now rather deeply relaxed. My wife can even watch TV next to me and I fall asleep peacefully.

I don't know if measuring a value would bring me anything other than costs. Objectifying it only helps me to a limited extent, after all, I am a human and humans are not known for their unconditional objectivity. Due to the new development area, there is simply no barrier. The gardens are close to each other (under 10m), and in the middle of the neighbor's garden there is a bass-heavy speaker on the ground playing electronic and pop music. I don't think you need a measuring device to imagine that I hear it just as loud on my terrace as he does on his. There's simply nothing in between that would even slightly stop the sound.

What I was actually getting at with my question: if the thumping in the living room with the window closed bothers you above all, I would possibly consider another, better insulated window Maybe it might also be enough to properly adjust the closing pressure on the window if the window installer was negligent there.

Yes, inside the room it is noticeably bass-heavy. I hear nothing through the window/wall except the bass line, but that is noticeable. I recently heard this bass thumping in the living room and briefly went around the corner outside, simply because I thought "wtf how loud must it be outside?" When I opened the door, I noticed that "Blinding Lights" was playing, a song I actually like very much. I didn't recognize it inside because really ONLY the bass comes through annoyingly, the highs and also the mids can't be heard inside.

My experience is also that one is less sensitive in the city because there are so many background noises. A value that is completely acceptable can be perceived as extremely loud in the countryside.

My goal was to objectify the harassment in order to define the correction target. So you describe yourself as very sensitive and that the music might not be that loud. But maybe it is very loud after all. Then you would have more arguments against the neighbor and would not criticize yourself so much. In open space, sound usually dissipates very quickly because reflections are missing. Yes, the bass frequencies, as the most energetic waves, carry further, but at 10m I would actually claim that at normal neighbor-friendly volumes it should no longer be perceived as disturbing, especially indoors.

The question is how the bass is transmitted. A buddy had problems with the bass from the apartment 2 floors below in his condominium. Curiously, in the apartment in between, the bass was hardly noticeable.