Well, you could ask the people upstairs if they have heard the noise--take the line that you are trying to pinpoint where it is so that you can call maintenance about it. Just something along the lines of, "At random times I hear an odd clicking noise. I'm trying to figure out if it is the water pipes or maybe the heating, so I can call maintenance. Have you heard it? Where do you think it is coming from?" Asking a simple, good faith question is not accusing them of anything, it's one neighbor asking another for help.

Or, when it's happening, call maintenance and ask for someone to come right away to hear it. There's a good chance it's the heating or something, and they can take care of it.

Probably the heating system... does it happen in summer too?

I don't know, I haven't been here in the summer. Again, I only notice the noise when the kid is not in school, but then again it could just be there are more people in the building using the hot water or something. It does not happen in the early morning or late at night.

I'm dealing with the same thing. I also live in a high rise. It's in Jersey City, 31 River Court to be exact. I hear the billiard ball, loud weird clangs like someone's hitting the heater with something ( when all the heating is off in my apartment ), and quieter taps and knocks in response to my movements and when I'm breathing agitated when I'm laying down. I sleep on a futon mattress on the floor. My boyfriend also hears the same noises but he says not to worry about it. I've dealt with weird issues like tapping sounds at a bunch of the apartments I've lived at before. I feel like I'm losing my mind but I know I'm not imagining it, my boyfriend hears it too. It's worse when I'm alone. I have the week off this week. I'm starting freelancing at another place next week. It's been so hard. I just got ear plugs and they provide some relief. If I heard this from someone a couple years ago, I would think that they had some problems or were imagining it. I know I sound like I make no sense. It's real, I know something's up. I have no clue why this keeps happening. I've moved so many times. It's the first time I've heard the billiard ball. At other places though, I heard tapping on the walls or ceiling or floor. I wonder if it's because I breathe agitated when I'm laying down. I wonder if people can hear me or feel it, my body feels twitchy when I'm upset and breathing weird. The taps happen in response to my twitchy body movements when I'm laying down. I wonder if it's bothering a neighbor. The problem is I can't voluntarily stop it because I'm so upset and feel scared at home because I've been dealing with these issues. I wonder if some neighbor thinks I'm doing it intentionally and taps because they're annoyed. My boyfriend and everyone I know thinks this is crazy and no one can hear or 'feel' breathing through walls and ceilings/floors. It doesn't sound logical to me either but I have no other explanation. I'm confused and overwhelmed so it's hard to talk clearly about it. I always live in apartments. I'm moving to a house as soon as I can save some money. I need relief. It's just so hard. Any feedback would be appreciated but only if it's constructive or if you've had similar experiences. It would be really nice to hear from the original poster if possible to see how they dealt with it. Thank you for your time.

About 10 years ago I was living in Tampa, FL. There was an occasional beep (of medium volume) coming from one wall near a window inside my bedroom. I had their maintenance man check it out and he said there were no wires, pipes, etc in the wall or outside at that point. Of course the beep never happened when he was checking it out.

I heard a similar noise when living in a condo with neighbors above, They had hard floors and a kid. it sounded just like someone dropping a billiard ball and sometimes it rolling along. I am pretty sure it was the kid playing with a ball or some other toy.

clouds_above, your post sounds familiar - I remember reading something like this on GW before. Are you the same person who posted about someone above you "pressing" on the floor? I think your apartment would have to have *extremely* thin walls for anyone to hear you breathing. Perhaps the noises you hear are your own sinuses or nasal noises? I don't think you should worry that your breathing bothers neighbors. I am sorry to hear you have anxiety.