26 May 2006
Bug Some of them Darn Teenagers (or Create an Adult Proof Ringtone)
The jury is still out on this one, so you gotta take it with a grain of salt. Apparently this mosquito noise is finely tuned to only be audible to ears of the younger generation. It is used as a teenage deterrent in some shops because it is annoying and doesn’t bother the older, paying generation because they can’t hear it.
So using this sound, you can either annoy the crap out of kids OR make a ringtone for your phone that only you and other youngin’ types can hear. There is some question as to whether a phone’s speaker can actually reproduce the ~18Khz tone or not, but it’s worth a try.
Personally, I’m 25 and hear nothing but some kids chattering in the background, but let us know your age and what you hear in the comments.
The sound that repels troublemakers.
Direct MP3 link of the sound in question.
Edit: I can hear the sound on my computer speakers at work, I guess my Macbook Pro just can’t reproduce the sound.
Speaking of Macbook Pros, I guess this explains why they emit high pitched sounds and Apple won’t fix it - they’re a bunch of old farts who can’t hear it!
Tags:
Age 25, I hear a high pitched pulse for the durration of the recording, with the background chatter mentioned in the artical for only a few seconds somewhere in the middle.
The high pitched pulsing noise is very annoying. I am 27 and can hear it clear as day. The reason the elderly can’t hear it is probably because they have ruined their higher pitched hearing in their earlier days.
Age 35, I can hear it, but I needed to turn the volume up pretty high.
25. The high pitched noise gave me a headache. Thanks god the clip is short.
25. My goodness that pulsating noise is very annoying, I can see how it can effectively deter teenagers it must be even more pronounced for anyone younger etc.
17. I can’t hear nothing. Maybe it’s the fault of my crappy speakers…
I hear the high, pulsating sound. It didn’t annoy me too much, but it left an annoying aftereffect- not quite a ringing in the ears, but certainly a discomfort.
17. It’s quite annoying, my parents couldn’t hear it.
18, Nothing.
Age:35
Could here it,not loud but it was there..I think the low volume may be due to My old comp’s speakers..but I could here it.
Age: 30
Sounds like crickets, but at a much higher frequency. My wife, who is 26 couldn’t hear it. I had to leave the room after she played it for the fifth time, trying to hear it. Very annoying.
I’m 36 and I could hear it clearly w/o even adjusting the speaker volume on my G4 iMac, which I keep pretty low (6 bars). I would definitely leave any store where I had to hear that constantly while shopping - besides the fact that it’s hellishly irritating, I’d probably make an ass of myself waving my hand around my head trying to ward off the imaginary mosquitoes. O.o
I’m 46 and can’t hear it, but I loaded it in an audio editor and analyzed it, there is a ton of wave matter in that frequncy range. Most computer speakers won’t reproduce that range, but I may use it in the future to rid my computer store of annoying preteens or “job applicants”. A set of small tweeters will likely be enough to make it happen……
21; only hear a slight buzz through the whole clip; very faint; hear tons of giggly and youth sounding noise though…
35. I can hear it, not very clear the first time, but I started to fill disconfort in the back of my head and afterwards for quite some time after stoping the sound. From 3rd atempt and after I was able to heard the high pitch. I have a Dell Latitude D400 Laptop.
19. I heard that sound once in a local shop and got quite a headache afterwards. Got one now as a matter of fact. By the way, my mother (40) didnt hear a thing
really irritating, that…
34 and I can hear it, obnoxies high chirp thing. That sucks, do they actually play that sound inside the store? or just out front to get rid of loitering type? Yuk.
edit, if someone can’t hear it, use your ipod headphones (you all have ipods, right :D)–my IBM work machine’s speakers can’t reproduce the noise.
I’m 17 and the sound hurts my head. I had to pull of my headphones because it was driving me nuts. Ow.
Age: 45. I can hear it, though it’s much quieter than the “background” noise.
I’m 15 and I can hear it… It hurts and it is /really/ annoying.
Age: 23
On medium volume on my Blackberry 8700g, at high volume it’s distorted and everyone can hear it.
age: 50.
Plainly audible through a my Mac Mini/car stereo lashup.
I’m still irritated by the 15.75KHz sounds emitted by most CRT-based TV receivers and some older TV cameras. I can tell when a TV is on inside a house from outside sometimes just by hearing that sound.
Age 14. I can hear it fine. My grandmother can also hear it. It doesn’t really hurt my ears at all.
Age 13. I can barely hear anything! There is a slight high-pitch sound, but I can barely hear that, too. I’m not even sure if what I’m hearing is the actual sound or the whine that comes from my computer! However, my sister can hear it
Update-converted the file to AAC using iTunes and played it on my JBL speakers. I can definitely hear something now, even though it’s very quiet! It has an annoying tone, like locusts during the summer, but more high-pitched.
i think it is funny that many of the older folk who say they can hear it have to turn the speakers up even a little. Anybody young should be able to hear it even when the system volume is really low.
If i walked into a store that was playing that, personally, I would find the speaker and rip it from the sockets… and then leave the store… who says im not there to buy something for my grandma or what not and I have to be annoyed by the sound? uncool.
36. Heard it perfectly clear. Keep in mind, those exposed to loud, high pitch frequencies loose their ability to process and “hear” those pitches; especially after prolonged exposure. Most middle-aged and older people have been exposed to a wide range of frequencies throughout their lives. This leads to the hearing loss as you get older. (Keep your hearing by keeping everything turned down at least 50% and changing your environment from time to time.)
I’m 15, and I get a F*cking headache from this sound!
I mean like, I’ve played in some punk bands(guitar),
And that’s not half as bad as this!
Age 20
I hear it at approx 1/3 volume and can hear some background noise at approx 3/4 through the recording. Motorola Phone Tools wont do anything with it and it wont play on a RAZR v3m so as a ring tone this may not be the best idea. I just tried the volume at one bar and WMP11’s volume down low. The lowest I can hear it that way is at 22.
32
can’t hear it, and neither can my wife.
however.. My head gets oogy and weird when its playing
im 17 and i had a 16 year old and 2 18 year olds listen to it and they could hear the noise….but iour teacher couldn’t… sweet!!!!
im 16 and i can hear that annoying sound..
theres a speaker outside my local bowling alley which plays a simliar noise, which some how screws with your head and leaves a weird feeling in the back of your throat, unluckily for me the noise box is on my way home
what thoughtful fuckers
Im 16 and i can hear it fine - wouldnt say its that annoying tho, wouldnt drive me away from somewhere any more than a crappy mobile ringtone would anyway.
My nigh-on 50 yr old parents cant hear it at all (and standard gateway speakers reproduce it just fine!)
I agree that its wrong to use them though - its on a par with spraying graffitti with lots of four-letter words and shouting “FUCK OFF” at people with a loudhailer as far as politeness and preservation of human rights go.
…but then i know a few people who’d gladly do much worse to get rid of yobbos hanging around and generally being a pain in everyone’s ass.
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13 need headphones but i can hear it and it dont bother me