Most people have heard of the mosquito ringtone. The high pitch ringtone used on student's phones in class that many teachers are unable to hear when the phone goes off. If you have not heard of this ringtone, or have not heard it yourself, you can use this site to test your hearing, http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/hearing_test/. The mosquito ringtone has the frequency of 17.4 kHz, see if you can hear up to 17000 Hertz using the hearing test. According to The Epoch Times, a Canadian newspaper, the mosquito ringtone is designed so that it can only be heard by people between the ages of thirteen and twenty five. When you reach age twenty five your ability to hear high frequencies starts to deteriorate due to presbycusis, hearing loss that occurs as you age. The mosquito ring was first designed to discourage loitering among teens in certain areas. The sound was placed in areas that experienced a lot of vandalism. In many areas that the ring was placed, the effects were positive, and less vandalism and loitering occurred.
Article: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/canada/mosquito-high-frequency-repellent-2280.html
Mosquito Ringtone
The classic mosquito ringtone... I was unaware this ringtone was given the title of "mosquito", but it seems more than appropriate given that the noise is super annoying. Who ever had the idea of playing this noise in loitering areas is a genius. The reason why people hangout in a particular place is usually to relax, right? Well if you disrupt the delicate balance of relaxation by messing with the acoustic environment, people will naturally navigate to a relatively quieter place.
This is very interesting to me how they can actually pinpoint an age group where a certain number of people can hear this frequency. I have heard this ringtone in class, as a matter of fact, and this proves that I, as a nineteen year-old, can hear this. When the ringtone went off in class, my teacher (probably 35) could not figure out why everyone was laughing. I am commenting to conclude that this ringtone seems effective for the age groups presented in the link above.
i have never heard of this before!
i have been told over and over again that i listen to my music too loud and that every time there is a ringing in my ears that ton is going to be out of my rang for the rest of my life. i have been told i have a great ear when it comes to music and i had some guy come to my music class and demonstrate the different frequencies and when we can and can not hear them. so weird!
however i have to ask, if you are going to spend your time on your phone while in class, why even go to class?
I've heard of people using this in class but have never heard anyone in my classes using it. That always makes me wonder whether I can hear it or not, but I did the test you posted and found I can hear all the way to 18khz, so I guess there's just nobody using this ringtone in any of my classes. I wonder how they figured out the ages people can hear it as well.
It's a little scary to think that some people can hear tones that I cannot! How do you think this impacts people's perceptions?
It is definitely interesting to know that some people can hear sounds that others cannot. When I was in high school, I knew of kids who used to leave the sound on constantly to annoy other students. And it definitely worked! It is also fascinating to learn that it can also deter crime. I wouldn't have even thought of using sound to stop crime before.
I've heard the mosquito ringtone several times in my classes and, despite my annoyance, can't help admiring the ingenuity of it all. I'm wondering how they can pinpoint an age group like that. And why can't someone younger than thirteen hear the ringtone?
For the record, I am pretty proud that I can hear every one of the frequencies on the website. All ego's aside though, I have always been a huge proponent of the mosquito ringtone. I was definitely "that guy" in ninth grade that got this on his first cell phone and found it absolutely hilarious to do it during class and annoy the entire class including the teacher who could never understand what was going on. I find it very interesting thought that people lose their ability to hear the mosquito frequency by age 25. Looks like I better get the most enjoyment out of doing it while I can, I only have about 6 more years of it.
I've had something similar to this on my phone! I had it during high school, and many others had this on their phones as well; it was VERY funny watching the teacher have a mini freak out trying to figure out what was going on! I tested the link out on my 30 year old uncle, and he can still hear it. His ability to hear these frequencies hasn't worn off yet! :)
The classic mosquito ringtone. I was unaware this ringtone was given the title of "mosquito", but it seems more than appropriate given that the noise is super annoying. Who ever had the idea of playing this noise in loitering areas is a genius. The reason why people hangout in a particular place is usually to relax, right? Well if you disrupt the delicate balance of relaxation by messing with the acoustic environment, people will naturally navigate to a relatively quieter place.