How to handle a delicate situation re: apartment tenancy

[StrongBad]

So I've got this issue with my downstairs neighbor which is, how should I say this...unique.

Here's the thing. I recently moved into a 2nd floor apartment which is really nice, and the fellow tenants are really nice as well, including this downstairs neighbor in question.

The issue is that this guy has Tourette's syndrome, a really bad manifestation of it as well. To be more specific, though he is downstairs, when he has fits (which basically consists of him yelling "Fuck!" at the top of his lungs at irregular intervals, I can hear it clearly through the flooring & walls of my apartment. It is so loud and intrusive that I can't focus on my affairs if I don't have some music or TV sound to drown it out.

To complicate matters, he seems to have these fits on a regular basis, when he gets home from work. They can be pretty consistent from like 6:30 until 9:30 or 11:00 at night, peaking and subsiding at random occurences. Unfortunately, I work at 5:00 am and need to wake up at 4:00 a.m., so when I am trying to sleep, his fits are keeping me awake.

I've talked to this guy before, he seems like a perfectly good person afflicted with a terrible disease. It seems like he really can't control it so I don't want to get mad with him. But at the same time, it's really interfering with my life as far as getting sleep and doing work in peace and quiet. I know this is an odd situation and I guess I can just put it out of my mind, but it really bothers me.

Anyone have any familiarity with this disease? Would it be out of line for me to bring something up to him? Anything I can bring up to the landlord? Thanks for any input to this random situation...

[NMDemDist2]

1. invest in a good set of earplugs is my advice n/t

[StrongBad]

2. I'm hoping this is temporary

I've been in the building 4 months and it's only really getting to the point of annoyance now. Maybe it's just the nature of the affliction and will get better.

[skygazer]

3. I doubt if there's much he can do about it

So I don't see that bringing it up with him would do anything but make him feel bad about something he has no control over. I would suggest getting some earplugs, perhaps trying some sort of white noise device to help you sleep, checking with the landlord to see if there's any way to further insulate the floor/ceiling between your apartments.

[StrongBad]

5. Good idea

Such a random situation I find myself in, but I think I have an idea re: insulation that just might work...

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. Darn unusual situation

According to this site, nothing can be done re: your Tourette's Sybdrome neighbor, as he has rights like everyone else re: fair housing.
(A pretty extensive info site)
http://realmentalhealth.com/tourettes/living_housing.asp

Thoughts:
You could move into different apt. same complex without beaking your lease.
You may have rights regarding this situation in that the apt. owner may be responsible for adding soundproofing to yours or the neighbor's apt. (read in the article site above)
You may want to ask FHA if you should have been informed of possible noise disturbance prior to leasing your apt.

[StrongBad]

6. Thanks for the link

I had already assumed that legal recourse was of no option, but this article makes a lot of sense out of the situation and the disease...