The "Teen Away" sound

[Iain]

Ben, I can hear all of that. The background noise will most likely be traffic and kids (sounds like someone hitting metal railings with something metal near the end) but there should be, and I can't hear it, an irritating high-pitched whine or drone throughout the recording.

[Firethorn]

had to turn my speakers up a bit, but can hear the chirping, quite annoying, and I'm 29.

Note to people who are thinking about using this:  This will drive away adults who didn't ruin their hearing with loud music and such when they were young, and won't annoy young punks who've already damaged their hearing with said loud music.

[BobR]

Hmmmm.....I don't hear it. I guess working around airplanes and flying in P3's for 20 years or so has ruined my high frequency, plus the fact I am a little outside the target range!

bob

[Ben]

but there should be, and I can't hear it, an irritating high-pitched whine or drone throughout the recording.

Ok, in that case I'm in the old fart category and don't hear a thing.  

[Mabs2]

19, and heard what reminded me of the TV's wistling noise...except this one pulsated.  I felt a sensation in my head from the ears up, but that was it.  The sound did not annoy me like the TV sound does.

[client32]

High pitch squeak.  Uncomfortable.

26

[cordex]

Okay, I listened to this the whole time I read the thread.  At 23, I hear it very clearly in a pair of cheap-o generic headsets.  It is mildly irritating.  For its stated purpose - making an area less desirable for young people to loiter - it might work.

I didn't notice any of the other symptoms some of you reported.

[client32]

Will little kids hear this?

I can imagine an adult taking their 3 year old and the kids start screaming that thier ears hurt, the parent simply being clueless.


I'm one of those Firethorn is talking about.  If I heard that noise, I'd walk out.  Especially now that I know what it is.  But maybe I'm just a wimp.

[jefnvk]

Huh.  Seems like it wouldn't take long to figure out a use for something that kids could hear and adults couldn't:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13274669/?GT1=8211

Students find ring tone adults can't hear
High-pitched Mosquito originally created to disperse youngsters

NEW YORK - Students are using a new ring tone to receive messages in class  and many teachers can't even hear the ring.

Some students are downloading a ring tone off the Internet that is too high-pitched to be heard by most adults.

With it, high schoolers can receive text message alerts on their cell phones without the teacher knowing.

Story continues below ↓
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As people age, many develop what's known as aging ear  a loss of the ability to hear higher-frequency sounds.

The ring tone is a spin-off of technology that was originally meant to repel teenagers  not help them.  A Welsh security company developed the tone to help shopkeepers disperse young people loitering in front of their stores while leaving adults unaffected.  The company called their product the "Mosquito."

Donna Lewis, a teacher in Manhattan, says her colleague played the ring for a classroom of first-graders  and all of them could hear it, while the adults couldn't hear anything.

[K Frame]

I could BARELY hear something very high pitched in the background, almost totally swallowed by the other noise. It sounded as if it was going beep beep beep beep.

My dogs didn't seem to notice it...

[crt360]

I heard some birds and a monkey.

I hear the high pitched TV noise all the time (in one ear, at least).  My PC also makes a loud, very high pitched, annoying sound that would probably mask anything coming from my speakers.

Maybe I'm just getting old.  Despite playing guitar and shooting most of my life, I've been pretty careful to use ear plugs and other hearing protection when necessary.  Apparently, that is not enough to keep one from developing tinnitus.

[jefnvk]

That recording isn't all that good.  They played one one the radio this morning that was much better, it was the noise itself, not the noise in an environment.

I can hear the TV noise right now, too.  Just a high pitched background noise that is irritating.