There are plenty of noise consultants around. Where are you located?

Is this a newly developed problem or has it always been there but you now want to try to mitigate it?

"outside noise coming into my house". I assume all the windows are closed and you plan on keeping them all closed all the time.

If it's just road traffic noise, I suspect it will very difficult to change it significantly. You might consider moving.

The era of your swellings construction, would be an indicator.

Do you have single glazed windows?
Ia the weatherstripping of doors tight fitting?
Have you trier placing a heavy blanket over the window?
Can you feel any vibrations in the walls?

I live in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. I moved into this house 6months ago. I tried searching for noise consultants but can't find any around, unfortunately.

No, I have double paned windows. But it sounds like the windows are open when even a little car drives by.
The weather stripping is good and I have heavy curtains over the windows.
As for the walls, I can feel some vibrating.

Thanks;
This is an indication that the walls may not be insulated.
How great is the difference in temp. when you place your hand on a window and an adjacent wall?
What is the exterior wall covering?

It is an addition so I know the walls are insulated - just with your standard R-19 the blue prints say.
The windows are colder then the walls.
We have siding on the exterior of the house.

Thanks again;
It appears that you are getting vibration being transmitted by the wall and while there are some inexpensive methods you can employ to mitigate this, and while not aesthetically appealing, propping a bedspread against the wall, as a test.

Curing it will be costly.

Here is a link that may lead you to a potential fee based determination. http://www.thebluebook.com/search.html?region=5&bkid=55&searchTerm=sound+control

This type of problem definitely requires a site visit to observe the phenomena and the surrounding conditions.

Because people react differently to external stimuli mitigation and resolution of the problem may be both costly and difficult.
The attached link is a google search for acoustical consultants in the Philadelphia area. good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: google search Philadelphia acoustical consultants

There must be special windows that help. I was in a very nice restaurant in the city right on the boulevard and you could hear nothing. Lots of windows. Double paned does not seem to do that much.

Walls. Attic. (Materials and insulation.)

Berms and trees to absorb.

You need an acoustics specialist. There should be some near a big city. Don't rely on a regular contractor even if they say they install acoustic control materials. It is a highly technical field and you really have to understand what you are doing and follow specs very carefully or it is pointless

People who design media rooms often get into this sort of thing.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Tue, Feb 25, 14 at 9:28

I used to live in a place with noise issues and know how annoying they can be. When I bought my house, it was in a sleepy little suburb. Over 20-30 years, traffic just continued to increase and to annoy me more and more. I, too, spent a lot of money to abate it -- high fence, insulated windows, evergreen hedges -- and it made only a slight improvement. Ultimately, I decided to move, which was the only solution that worked for me. Once one starts to focus on noise it's hard to not hear it, and nothing is likely to reduce it enough for you to be satisfied. Sorry to be so negative...just sharing the voice of experience.

Who ya gonna call?

"Noisebusters"

Sorry couldn't help myself.

RIP Mr. Ramis.

I think the most cost effective solution is wait until you need something like new windows then upgrade to the best.

It isn't absolutely terrible to cur into your drywall and double check on your contractor's claims of insulation if you did not see it during construction. McBride, a decent sized company in my town, had to come back and make up for some skipped firewalls between sone new condos they built in Hazelwood a few years back.

Quality of materials really makes a difference. In my neighbor's house you wouldn't hear a car crash. In mine you can hear automatics shifting.

Thank you everyone for the responses!
I will definitely see if I can find a professional in my area. I am hoping moving is not the direction I will have to take in the near future. I'm trying to avoid that at all costs!

Toronado380 - what did your neighbor do to their house that they can't hear anything but you can? Curious...