I'm 27, and have always had super-sensitive hearing (almost superhuman, really). The first one contains this throbbing, super high-pitch that began to drive me nuts.

The second one was terrible at high volumes. It would absolutely keep me out of a store, out of someone's pants, or out of ketchup. It's super-high. Ouch.

I'm 25 and I hear the annoying sound on #2. I'm turning 26 before the month is over, though. So perhaps I'll listen on my birthday and report back.

#1 sounds like street noise, slight throbbing and girls giggling.

#2 is very painful and high pitched.

Um, I will turn 39 next week. This is not a benefit.

Wow - yeah, I'm turning 18 and I totally agree with cheeken -- the first one sounds like that annoying noise that you hear emanating from a television (like when you know it's turned on, but the screeen is black) and makes this sort of pulsing noise. The second one is just annoying as heck, like this screech. Yick

I'm 16 and the first one I could barely hear a slight buzzing. The second one was a more high pitched buzz which was slightly annoying, but not too bad. I sometimes hear that kind of noise emitting from tv's.

I'm 18, and in the first one I can definitely hear a terrible, annoying noise that would keep me out of a store. It's faint, but has a special quality to it that is really awful.

The second one is really, really awful. It almost hurts, no joke.

I'm actually quite surprised that even with the MP3s, young and old ears hear different things.

I'm 38. I didn't hear anything unusual in either of those 2 clips. BUT, years ago when I was a teenager, I remember being in a store and hearing an incredibly high-pitched noise, so loud and painful I had to leave. It happened a few other times, but nothing in the past 10 years or so.

I'm 16, and have tennitus, the first one I can't really hear anything too annoying, the second? I'd kill to stop that sound.

34 years old. On a 4.1 soundsystem, at the volume I listen to music at, number one was what you describe, with a little whine in the backround. Number two, however, was a very painful whistle/tone, which actually messed with my equilibrium (which is kinda fussy anyway), and would definitely keep me out of a store. Or make me strangle a kid who used it as a ringtone, for that matter...

I'm 20 and both those sounds are making my ears ache more than from the chronic ear infections I got as a kid. My hearing is also especially sensitive in my right ear from those infections which made this all the worse.

I'd describe the first one as a short ultra-high-pitched beep that sounds about once every second. The second makes Michael Bolton and Kenny G sound like quality music. I wouldn't even be able to go near a store playing those. Damn kids.

I'm 31. The first one I hear street noise and a faint pulsing buzz that's not very annoying. The second one I hear a buzz that is really loud and would definitely drive me nuts.

OK, I tried it again, cranked #2 really loud and yeah, that is the exact noise I heard when I was younger in the store (see above comment). OUCH!

I'm with Cheeken on this one.

I'm 26, female. I hear the street noise in #1, but the high pitch throbbing is muy painful. I couldn't even make it thru the entire clip.

#2, not so bad. High pitch sound at high volumes is irritating but I could probably last a lot longer in a store if they played #2 than if they played #1.

And five minutes later I can still hear those sounds and it's literally making my stomach clench. :(

I'm twenty, and I have pretty average hearing.

Those sounds are so annoying, even at my laptop's lowest volume setting, that I think I might act violently toward anyone whose cell phone emitted such a frequency. Imagine tinnitus, only at an intensity that feels as if it could rupture your ear drums. Then, if you're listening to clip # 1, imagine it pulsing a few times, and then stopping, and then pulsing a few times and then stopping. If you're listening to clip #2, imagine a penicillin injection administered to both inner ears.

The first one isn't so bad, because there are pauses between the glaring aural agony, but the second one I could actually feel in the base of my skull like a terrible headache.

#1: a high pitched oscillating buzz. annoying enough for me to not go into a store buzzing that.

#2: same high pitched buzz, but without the oscillation. also, my wife just called from the other room saying, "what the hell was that?" we both agree that we'd avoid a place blasting something that irritating.

me: 25 wife: 26

I'm 19, male.

#1 - Not bad with volume down, but bad with volume higher, sounded like a pulsing whine.

#2 - Hideous. High pitched and horrible to listen to. Not to mention I think it set off my tinnitis - my ears are still ringing, 10 minutes after hearing that tone... *wince*

I'm 19, and both of those annoyed the heck out of me. The first one has this sort of high pitched pulsing noise that's not too bad at first, but if I had to listen to it for any length of time it would drive me nuts. The second is a constant high pitched screech that is just intolerable. Unless I REALLY wanted to be there, either of them would probably keep me out of a store (but the second would be much more effective).

Yeah, so there should be a WARNING before both of these clips that if heaven forbid you can hear the high-pitch throbbing b/c you're the appropriate age/etc, you can expect these sounds to continue to eat away at your eardrums long after the clip has finished!!!!!!!!

age 32 female volume is where I always keep it, just average, not too loud

sound one, ambient street noise, girls giggling,etc

sound two, so high pitched and painful I had to shut if off after a few seconds...

I'm 39. The first sounds like simple street noise, some giggles, nothing interesting or annoying (there's also a quick clanging noise 2/3 through). The second causes an incredibly high pitched ring in a funny place deep in my right ear (only). It pretty closely mimics the tone and feel of a ringing ear. Definitely unpleasant, but not unbearable. I imagine it's what Aquaman's friends hear when he calls for help.

I'm 28 and female.

I hear a pulsing whistle sound in the first one that makes my head throb. I probably wouldn't last a minute if it were playing on the jukebox.

As for the second one, oh dear lord, that was painful. Kill me now.

I wonder if my detection of these sounds means I'm immature for my age? Or further supporting evidence.

I am 35 and I heard the first one clearly; extended exposure would definitely make me uncomfortable. The second one gave me an instant headache and mild nausea.

I may not be the best tester because my hearing is far above normal at higher frequencies. But my money still spends like anyone else's. I would definitely walk out of any business broadcasting either of those tones, stopping only long enough on my way out to complain to the manager until he or she was as annoyed as I was.

My wife does not have my superhearing but she still spun around and yelled "What was that!?" when I played tone #2. She is 34.

I'm 31 and couldn't hear either. I could just hear a humming during the second one, but that was all. My girlfriend will be up in a few minutes...she's 24, so maybe she can hear it.

I just turned 19, and I know I have horrible hearing.

In a sensory physiology lab a couple months ago, our lab group was played increasingly high frequency sounds and we were to report when we could no longer hear the sound. Apparently the average for our age is about 15000Hz. The highest frequency heard in our group was 18500Hz.

I could only hear up to 13000Hz.

Needless to say, with that embarassing debacle behind me, I thought my subpar hearing would never become an issue again. But no, The Sneeze has to put this up, and I am sad to report that all I can hear that is out of the ordinary is a faint hum/buzz in #2. #1 just sounds like ambient noise to me.

Well, I guess the plus side is that I can go into these shops and be an annoying teenager without having my eardrums molested. Well, whatever's left of my eardrums, anyway.

29 yo male. The first one sounded much like what Steve reported - ambient street noise, but layered under a much more prominent "white noise"-type sound.

Number two was a lot worse. At first, it was very unpleasant (though I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say painful). As it went on, it got a LITTLE less bad. I tried listening to it a second time (we must SACRIFICE ALL IN PURSUIT OF SCIENCE!) and it didn't get any less bad than that initial drop-off.

I'd say it'd probably make me want to leave the scene - though if I didn't know it was machine made, I might assume that it was just an especially bad "ringing" in my own ears, for no discernible reason.

Given that quite a lot of people my age and older can hear and are bothered by #2, I bet any store which sincerely tries to use this is going to find itself on the receiving end of a lot of complaints. Hell, I bet the freakin' employees will be pissed. It just won't fly. This whole "teenagers hear shit the rest of us can't" appears to be bullshit.

I'm 19, and I'm using the second one for my ringtone for sure. Give a little surprise to people at school and work... muhaha.

My experience was similar to everyone elses.

I'm 35 and I could hear both.

My roommate is 51 and he thought I was crazy. He couldn't hear anything.

Even now the second one hurts.

#1. Alright. I hear this high pitched thig in the foreground....

#2. Sounds like a louder version of the frequency I hear when I turn on the telly. I can almost always tell when someone turns on the telly...

Oh and I'm 24

hi steve im 15 and its realy REALY anoyying it sound's like the fuzzy screeching that you hear when your watching the fuzzy tv screen when theres no cable on your tv its very schrange and hard to explain to all you old folk's

In the first one, I could hear a high-pitched sound that pulsated every second or so. Not that annoying. Actually had to turn the TV off to be able to hear it clearly.

The second one had a rather high pitched sound that was rather annoying. Makes me wonder if that's the internal resonance frequency of teenager's skulls...kinda like that C++ source code I read as a kid that told the story of a factory in Australia that emitted 7hz tones. The factory was next to a chicken farm -- when the factory started up, all the chickens died.

I'm 42, and the first one sounds like the voices in my head when they tell me to read The Sneeze. The second sounds like the voices in my head when my cable internet connection is down and I can't read The Sneeze...or look at porn. Please make them stop.

My husband and I are 24 and 23, respectively.

We both agree that sound #2 was eardrum shattering! Furthermore, it continues to ring in your ears mintues after you've stopped listening to the sound!

Sound #1 wasn't nearly as bad... but a similar high pitched pulsating sound could still be heard above all else.

Very, very strange.

Steve, if neither you or your wife can hear it.. you should see if your children can.

Im 17, I can hear the first one but it didn't really bother me.

The second one would definitely take me out of the store.

Although I can still clearly hear the first one even though I stopped it like 5 minutes ago.

i played the clips well over five minutes ago, walked away, and came back just to tell you that I can STILL hear both clips.

29 years old, wanting to pierce my own eardrums to stop the pain.

She couldn't hear the first one either, but ordered me to turn off the second one, and said it would keep her out of a shop that was playing it. Weird.

I'm a 23 year old female with average hearing.

#1: I could definitely hear a pulsing high-pitched noise over the street noise. Slightly annoying, but not horrible. Kind of like a far-away chorus of mosquitos or TV noise.

#2: This is very piercing and disorienting. I used to suffer from fainting spells, and this was the sound I heard as I keeled over. Not pleasant.

23 year old male, shouldn't have great hearing.

#1 pretty annoying, couldn't hear any street noise though. Because it's pulsing I can imagine that it'd make me feel pretty ill in the end.

#2 kind of like an old malfunctioning TV warming up, just that right frequency to drive me utterly mad and the amplitude just that bit too high to block out.

I am 40.

I could hear background noise and some giggling on the first one.

On the second, I heard nothing. I thought you might be pulling my leg, so I turned up the volume and put my ear on the speaker. I might have heard a sound...could have been wishful thinking, though. I'm just glad halfway through there wasn't a screaming voice reminding me I am over-the-hill. That was actually what I was expecting.

I can't wait for my 14 year-old to wake up so I can let her hear it.

*still not convinced this isn't a prank*

I'm 14, and in the first one, I hear a high-pitched ringing along with the street noise. Can you adults hears the ringing/whistle in the first one? It's obvious!

Hi Steve,

I am 42 and I could not hear anythng unusual at #1.

#2 however would keep me away from anywhere it would be played. Terribly annoying.

I'm 22. I just hear street noise in the first one.
In the 2nd one is a high pitched squeal. It's awful. Who would want that as their ring tone?

I'm 14 and I don't think either sounds are THAT annoying.

I'm 22. Both are very annoying. The first one, a throbbing tone with street noise in the background is very clear. The second, is more annoying than the first. Just a constant high-pitched tone. It would drive me crazy after a couple of minutes (not saying that the first one is any better).

32, nothing nasty on the first and a horrible high pitched whine on the second.

i'm 21. i could hear... something in the first one, that made me feel very off-kilter. i could hear high-pitched tones in the other one, something that didn't bother me as much as the first one, but would become annoying over time.

I'm in the UK, and when the story broke over here they claimed the age was 20. I couldn't hear no. 1, but could hear no.2. And by the way, the idea is that they're played outside, so as to stop teens hanging out outside places, and they're played quite loudly so I'm told, so having your sound low may not get across the full effect.

yeah, I'm 20, and number one has this siren-like whistle in it, like an alarm at a super high frequency. Number two has the same high frequency wail only constant, no pulsing. Both started to bore into my brain and feel weird in my head. I wouldn't appreciate hearing that passing a store in a mall at all!

I'm 18. Number 1 didn't bother me at all, like Steve said, it sounded like street noise. Number 2, however, made me cringe. That noise could keep me away from anything.

Ok, so I'm 25.

The first sound - when the volume is up on full I can 'hear' a very faint electronic noise, but it's more of a feeling. It's like that emf feeling you get when you turn on a computer or tv.

The second sound - rather excruciating. A very high pitched whine that is annoying as all hell. If it were played loud I could imagine getting the hell out of wherever it was.

I hear street sounds and a very slight humming/buzzing noise in #1. Not annoying and wouldn't keep me out of a store.

#2 is awful! I didn't even have my speakers up very loud but it was quite painful to my ears.

And I'm 25.

It's not all that different from the high pitched whine that the TV makes when it's on, but muted. But played at high volume, #2 is really excruciating. The strangest part is when the audio clip ends, and it's completely silent again, your head feels like it's about to implode.

Oh yeah, I'm 25 too.

i'm 15 and the first one had a whistling sort of thing going on over the top of street noise. The second one was so fucking bad my ears are still ringing. But it wouldnt keep me a waya i'd just say f u for life and hang out there anyway your not my mother. By teh way my 13 year old sister and 40 year old mum who you have to scream at to get her attention could hear teh whistling in both so ha

STEVE DON'T EAT IT

I'm turning 27 in august.

#1 is just normal street noise.

#2 has an awful, stingy high-pitch screech on it. There's no way I'd stay in a place where they play that kind of sound.

I'm 37.

#1: Ambient street noise notwithstanding, I felt it more than heard it. Didn't really bother me at all, even when I turned my speaker volume up.

#2: Ow, that's awful! Even at low volumes this would make me want to claw my eardrums out of my head.

I'm 19 and hear a pulsating screech sound layered with general street noise in the first.

In the second, i a similar screech sound as in 1, without the pulsating effect.

Both are annoying.

I got my mum in to listen to the clips, in the first she said she heard some bashing noises, and heard nothing in the second.

I'm 17.
#1 i hear a bunch of people chatting and some general street noise. crappy recording really.

#2 in this one i hear rather highpitched whistle which hurts my ears :(

they wouldnt keep me out of a shop, especially not #1 anyway, number two i could put up with if i had to. the idea is to stop the teens hanging round outside the shop, littering, grafittiing, disturbing the peace and intimidating other customers.

The first was annoying, and the second almost made my heart stop even at the the low volume. I don't dare turn it up. I couldn't listen to the whole thing, it's horrible. Though I do want to try it again, on every idiot I can get that'll listen. So thanks for that.

oops btw, just turned 18.

oh GOD they are both annoying. my brother is 14 and im 18 and weve been listening to both sounds. makes us clench our teeth. i would NOT go into a store if they have a sound like that.

I turned 37 last week. I've always had sensitive hearing, I require very low volumes on things like radio and tv to hear them clearly.

#1 had a slight hum that would get annoying over time.

#2 is so annoying even from the small speakers on my laptop it was hard to remove my hands from my ears to hit the mute button. It would keep me away from the street, let alone the store.

Im 19, and both are really irritating. Sound 1 less then number 2, number 2 is a real keep me out of the store sound :(

I'm 17 and playing both through my studio monitor speakers (top top top) i could hear both very loudly and clearly, but they wouldnt stop me going into a shop or whatever. Pretty crappy that shops are using it as a teen detterent, and also judging from the comments up top, you can hear it well over 25 anyway.

Olly

Number two...I think aliens are attempting to take over my brain...

16, female, uber sensitive hearing

Both of them really bothered me. They made my head throb and gagged me a tad. The second one actually made me groan aloud. Heh. I wouldn't go into a store playing that. Those are icky brain waves.

I'm 26 and listened to both with the sound all the way up on my laptop.

With the first one, I could sense a pulsing rhythm but mostly only heard the ambient noise. When I put my ear up to the speaker, I could hear an faint oscillating high pitched noise. I think if I heard it for a long time, I'd leave the area, but wouldn't know why.

The second one makes me want to die.

I'm 29 and female. Heard nothing on clip #1. #2, however, pierced my eardrums. Awful.

I am definately not the best person here to respond to these tones. I am 26 and losing my hearing. With my hearing aid in I still didn't hear the first tone, but the second one I had to crank up the sound to hear the annoying screech. I don't know about anyone else, but I felt it as well as heard it.

On the first one, there is a high pitched drone beneath the babble and noise. It's kind of throbbing and isn't too annoying, but it's not exactly enjoyable. If I didn't know it was there, I'm not sure I'd notice it. It's like the noise televisions make occasionally.

The second one gave me a head ache after I listened to it for a while. It's the same noise as the first one, but it's louder and stops and starts. That would definitely make me leave a room and it had my 12 year old brother screaming at me to turn it off. It has to be taken into account that he's a bit melodramatic of course...

I'm 16 by the way.

The first one becomes annoying when I crank up the volume real high.

The second seems to use the same high pitch tone but much louder. It's really annoying and would keep me out of a store unless there's cheap booze :D

Age is 24.

I don't hear much of anything on the first recording. It sounds like outdoor noises.

Number two had this terrible prolonged beep. I can definitely see it bothering me greatly at high volume. Hell, it'd bother me at low volume if I heard it and couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

I'm 22.

24 years old.

#1 Sounds like a castrated cricket, a very high pitch pulsing chirp.

#2 is AUDITORY DEATH!!!

*shudder*

I'm 28.

Both one and two made the inside of my ears tingle and I heard an unpleasant high pitched sound on both.

Both were annoying, but the second one gave me a craving for pizza. Do you think that means anything?

I must be doing something wrong, both clips just told me to buy Fop.

29.

I heard nothing unusual with the first one.

The second one caused physical pain. I had to turn it off.

I just turned 38, and I think #1 sounds like the white noise they pump out at work. However, #2 hurt my head immediately, even at a very low volume. In fact, I think it gave me a headache.

i'm 19, and the first one had this high pitched noise that annoyed the heck out of me... the second one was WORSE... and i'm playing this with two small normal speakers in low volume...

these two sounds will definately keep me out of everything, with just 5 seconds of exposure. heck, screw 5 seconds, i couldn't stand even one second of that mp3, i pressed back as soon as i heard it.

so i guess this myth is proven :(

I'm 15 and they are both VERY VERY ANNOYING NOISES. The first was a sort of throb, but the second was downright AWFUL. Really screetchy!

The first one sounded like ambient street noises as Der Steve noted. The second one was a high-pitched 'eeeeee' kind of noise that was so disruptive that, a minute or two after listening to it, is still sounding in my ears and jolted me into a slightly altered state of consciousness.

I'll be 17 in 23 days.

#1 I heard from boingboing a few weeks ago, it's audible but if needed I could ignore it.

#2 is horrible. Very shrill and very audible. Hearing it for 10 seconds made my head ache and would keep me away from anything exluding a) Chris Evans, B) 1 dollar. But I'm cheap

I'm turning 28 this month, but my hearing isn't great.

#1 was just ambient street noise.

#2 was nothing. Not a thing.

So I'm clearly impervious to your mind-rays, Professor Zarkov!!!

1 - I heard a medium volume off and on pitch.
2 - I heard a strong tone.

I'm 14.

I'm 32.

#1. street noise with an additional high pitched chirpy sound

#2. High pitched tone

This was done on a laptop with less than hi-fi sound quality and I was able to hear the sounds fine.

I live in the UK and we have one of those being bluetooth'd around- you can't escape it, people play it at work. It gives me a cracking headache. I wish it'd never been invented.

Isn't it a bit- uh- agest- to assume all shoplifting/fights etc are carried out by the under 25's? Running a business myself I certainly wouldn't play either of these sounds as I'd lose 99% of my customers. I'm 22 myself and I'd be extremely offended that I couldn't shop anywhere anymore.

Age: 36
Sex: Male
I can clearly hear both, and would seek and destroy whatever device was making them.

I heard the first one before, a couple of weeks ago. Even with the volume all the way up and headphones on I cant hear anything but street noise.

The second one I get a high pitched whine if I turn the volume up all the way, nothing at normal levels. Even with it all the way up its not terribly annoying. My hearing isnt all the good though. Too many years of working around large equipment.

Btw, I'm 39 yrs old today *yay me*

I'm 20 and I thought the first noise was quite pleasant; just a low rumble, like traffic on a highway or something. The second noise was pretty annoying and reminded me of the sound of a TV from far away. I don't mean the sound of the voices on the TV, but I think it might be static or something...

I'm an 18 year old male, and I couldn't hear much wrong with #1 - I cranked it right up and heard a pulsing, high pitched whiney sound - I wouldn't have noticed unless I read the comments, though.

#2 was pretty unpleasant, but not unbearable. It sounds like a disposable camera after you've taken a picture... but constant.

Now my right arm is twitching. Strange.

How very odd that everyone hears something different.

The first one, just street noises, girls giggling, not annoying at all.

The second one. High-pitched, painful buzz. I couldn't have listened any longer.

I'm 45.

Neither were "painful" as most people are saying but the second one would be annoying if turned up loud enough.
I'm 18.

I'm 43, with "SuperMom" hearing.

In #1, I could make out street noises, a pipe banging and girls giggling. Not offensive at all.

In # 2, the first time, I couldn't hear a thing. I turned up the volume and listened again, and still couldn't hear anything, but...

a few seconds after it stopped, my right ear started popping, as if I was decompressing, or the altitude was changing.

Hmmmmm....

I'm 21 and heard the high pitched whining on the second one, but I didn't hear anything on the first. But hearing that noise would definitely keep me out of a store.

My head is still hurting from those mp3s and I still have a craving for pizza!

Damn you Steve and damn your scientific expreiments!

age 18

1st sound kind of annoying. clear high pitched sound

2nd. very annoying,enough to keep me out of shop

I'm 21 and I my ears have definitely been better in the past.

First one was ok. I was certainly not a fan of the second one. Would definitely keep me out of shops.

Bah! That puts a end to my thieveing days.

30 years old

#1 is clearly discernable -- pulsing high-pitch tone.
#2 is just plain obnoxious.

Reminds me of a store my mom used to drag me to when I was a kid. I hated it there. I always thought it had something to do with the door sensors (they must have been using some near-ultrasonic system.)

I've alwyas been able to hear very high frequencies, though, and obviously this ability hasn't diminished with age.

I'm 28 going on 90. #1 sounded like street noise, cars going by, people giggling, etc. With #2 I heard absolutely nothing.

just turned 36 here (man)
1st one was a low rumble under street noise, no problem, had to turn volume all the way up to notice it
2nd was a high pitch whine, annoying but managable and no side effects. sounded just otherwise described, the whine of a tv set or monitor
again, had to turn the volume all the way up to hear it - at normal levels i heard nothing
i too have tinnitus, started up recently after a car wreck...

I'm 19

#1 I had to turn the volume way up to hear anything. Then I heard a high pitched noise, but it wasn't that bad.

#2 was painful and I rushed to shut it off. It's a piercing noise and reminded me of a needle. Not good.

I'm 29, and I can hear both sounds... The second one sounds similar to the high pitched whine of an old tube TV being turned on, except louder and much more annoying. This wouldn't necessarily keep me out of a store if I wanted to buy something in there, but I'd certainly be annoyed by both sounds.

I'm 16, and listening to these first thing in the morning was a terrible idea. The first one was fairly annoying at low volumes, it would probably make me leave a store within two or three minutes unless I really really wanted to be there. Definitely headache inducing. The second one was just god-awful. Even at low volumes I couldn't take more than three seconds of it. Ow.

OH DEAR LORD. The second one was painful. I'm 15, and I wouldn't set that to my ringtone even if adults couldn't hear it. I'd lose my hearing or my ears would bleed or something.

HOLY SMUCK! THE FIRST ONE WAS LIKE A MOSIQTO OF DEATH INSIDE YOUR EAR.

THE SECOND ONE WELL SHUCK YOU STEVE I HAVE TO GO TO THE E.R. CUZ MY EARS ARE BLEEDING!

I'm 35, and the first sound was rather pleasant, made me want to return for a visit to London.

Second sound, though - yowch. It's three minutes later and the sound hasn't left my head. It's as if the high pitch was Satan's "It's a Small World" and my brain can't stop playing it over and over and over. Why is it when I try to sing a song, I'm tone-deaf and sound horrible, yet the inside of my head can perfectly mimick a pitch that would bring Lassie to its knees?

I'm 22 and the first one sounded like a street scene. The second one wasn't anything terribly annonying but I had to really crank my speakers to even hear it.

ok for the second one- does anyone remember the seinfield episode where rob shneider is playing a deaf guy and at the end of the show elaine finds his hearing aids on the floor of a theater and puts them in but then a fire alarm goes off and she begins thrashing about as if possed by a demon? yeah thats me on the second one steve im serious put a warning on those things your gonna kill somebody

I 15 and the first one sounds to me like street ambience accompanied by a pulsing, high pitched, ear-fucking buzz.

The second one sounds to me like the high-pitched tone not unlike the one in the first one, only here there was no pulsing and no ambience to distract me into retaining my sanity.

I'm agreeing with Agnes - it sounds like the 'television on mute' thing.

The first one I could tell there was something besides the street noise.. but the second - OUCH! Made me feel like having a panic attack. I'm 32-

Also, I wonder if old people with hearing aids will be able to hear this sound? It would be amusing. They might think their earpiece is malfunctioning.

I'm 27. The first one, like most of everyone else who already commented has said, is street noise and a pulsing high pitch, but the street noise helps to break up the high bit so it's not that bad.

The second one was annoying but not painful at a lower volume level -- but if I were to enter a store and they had it up pretty loud, I'd steer clear because after a few more notches on the volume guage, it made me wince pretty ouchfully.

I do have a hard time believing that older people just can't hear it -- unless their hearing is otherwise bad anyway.

P.S. My daughter (10) hears what she calls static for the first one, says she can't hear the street noise at all cos it's so loud. And the 2nd she could hear a high-pitched noise. Didn't seem to annoy her though.

I'm 16.
In #1 I hear a pulsating high-pitched frequency over the street noise. It sounds like my ears are ringing. Pretty annoying.
In #2, the high-pitched whistle is really loud and annoying, but I sort of get used to it by the end of the clip.

Well, I heard nothing unusual in the first one, but did hear the “mosquito” in the second. Being the ever-skeptic, and as I believe that my 31-year-old hearing is pretty good, I thought you guys were full of it and that there wasn’t anything to hear in the first one.

I brought the mp3 into my handy-dandy spectral analyzer, and wouldn’t you know it, there was something there, hanging between 15000 Hz and 17000 Hz. I dropped the pitch about 5 percent and could hear it very clearly.

I then did an experiment to find out where my limit was. It’s right around 15000 Hz, but add ambient noise and it gets lost.

I posted a set of mp3s at http://www.ochenk.com/tones that go from 10000 Hz up to 18000 Hz. Every file is of the same volume, pure tone.

Find your limit.

Ochen K.

Im 19 and could hear both the high pitched sounds. The second one being far more annoying and painful....

At normal volume, the first just sounded like normal street noise. I almost turned off the speakers on the second. I then went back and turned up the volume on the first and heard the pulsing buzz, but it didn't really bother me as much as the second one.

I'll be 34 next week.

First one seemed like quiet street noise, I almost looked out of my window to see who was talking.

Second one mildly annoying (I'm 16) but at high volumes yeah I'd have some sort of murderous tendency towards the creator. I'd probably just firebomb the shop to make it stop.

Male.25

I've always considered myself to be a bit of a superhero, but I can definitely hear the puslating whistle in the first one and then the "kill-me-now" tonal all through the second.

Either one, if I heard it in a store, would keep me very far away. Then again, I wig out when I can hear the second hand on a clock tick. Drives me insane.

#1 Static that hurt my ears after a bit

#2 That annoying high pitched sound you get from the TV sometimes

age 27

Hey, Im 34 and on the first one I heard the street noise, but in the background I could hear a faint high pitch whistle every once in awhile. My kids all under 10 heard nothing. I think this one would begin to bug me after being around it long enough. The second was a high pitch constant sound, and I would promptly leave a store that had it playing.

#1 was like an annoying bird-chirp alarm.
#2 was an long and painful high pitch whistle.

I heard them both too well for my own liking (i.e. exceptionally clear) and I'm 17.

The first one I can't hear much... maybe a faint high pitch over some background.... but that's reaching to hear anything.

The second is a very easy to hear high pitch that would get grating after awhile.

I'm 35.

I am 21.
I heard a faint high-pitched sound in the background of the first one, it wasn't too bad, slightly annoying. I HATED the second one, it would drive me nuts.

I'm 25 and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH.

The second one was worse, but the first one would be annoying enough.

The first one I could this sound that went up and down in pitch very annoying.
#2 was painful

I forgot sorry. I'm 19 I used to have very much above average hearing but in the past two years I've seriously lost hearing so much so that I think I'm porbably worse than normal

I'm 26.

I didn't actually hear any pulsing or any high pitched sound in #1, but for some reason it felt like my eyes were going crosseyed while I was listening to it.

#2 is evil and wrong.

I'm 26: both of them were so painful I'd boycott any store that used them. They don't want my money? Fine, I'll go spend it elsewhere.

I'm 47 and I can hear both of these sounds no problem. That second one would be really annoying at high volume and would definitely keep ME out of a room where it was playing. I couldn't get the volume high enough on my laptop to really tick myself off but the dog was looking at me funny and my four year old wanted to know what I was doing.

I heard the same ambient street noise and faint whistling as you. I'm 44. But I know the "anti-theft annoying whistle" is true because I remember being bothered by it as a child and teen. There was one store in the mall that it pained me to walk through because a screeching tone hurt my ears when I was young. I never went into this store on my own because I didn't want to hear the noise. But sometimes I got dragged by my Mom who thought I was being overly imaginative since she couldn't hear a thing. But when I accompanied her to the same store as an adult, I couldn't hear anything either.

24, male:

first one was fine, just ambient noise.

second one made me wince and gnash my teeth. 'Aftertone', if you will is still plaguing me minutes after listening to it. As others have said, similar to CRT monitors such as TVs (could never watch TV when developing a headache) and sometimes you hear it in the office, at home, etc - ouchy.

considering a majority of the people who commented here were in their 30s and up and were annoyed by the #2, I think store owners who use that sound are just screwing themselves out of business. I'm 23 and couldn't really hear the first one, but the second one was evil. I have always avoided going into Circuit City for the same reason, all the buzzing and electronics make my ears hurt, so i would avoid the stores that play this clip too. Way to drive out customers, London.

The first one was street noise with a mild whining in the background, like a wheel spinning on a poorly oiled axis a long way away.

The second one was the same whining on its own, but louder and sustained rather than cyclical.

I'm 30, and I was worried I was losing my hearing. Hooray, I'm not!

I'm 27, I hear nothing even remotely annoying in either. The first sounds like ambient crowd noise; the second is silence.

I'm 25 and heard the same thing most people did:

#1: Pulsating, high pitched, annoying tone sort of in the background.

#2. Evil pain-tone, surely designed by the military to throw the enemy into sudden panic.

note: To anyone who hasn't listened to these yet, do not listen to either one through headphones. It is surely a mild form of torture. I don't think my ears will ever be the same.

I'm 20 years old...
The first one sounds sort of like a cricket..
the second one makes me want to kick myself in the face

I'm 25. I hear both just fine.

The first one was street noise but with pulsing high pitched noise as well. Overall, it was tolerable. The 2nd one was an unbearable high pitched sound. It was louder than the first and physically painful. The 2nd noise would definitely keep me out of a store.

I should add that I do have a condition that causes me to have very sensitive hearing.

I am 43. the first one was street noise, with a quiet fast beat in the background.
The second one was a horrid high squeal that made me nuts instantly.

I'm 43.

Didn't hear anything unusual in the first clip but the second nearly knocked me out of my chair. Feels like I've got water in my ears now.

i heard both just fine, but the second was really annoying and hurt my ears... that would definitely keep me out of a store. I'm 16.

Well, I'm 31 and my son is 13. I listened to these then woke him up to listen.

1. for me, very annoying, for him- he could hear it but it didn't bother him as much as me.

2. for me-made my back teeth feel like they were at the dentists office without laughing gas. for him- he could hear it but it didn't phase him.

I would definately NOT shop at places with these noises.

Not to be all annoying and young, but I heard both of them and thought they were both really REALLY annoying. #1 had some street noise, but the annoying part was the high-pitched pulse in the background. The second one made me want to cover my ears and cry.

I'm 25.

I am quickly approaching 31 and I heard both sounds loud and clear. I am hypersensitive and I found these sounds to be quite annoying, the second one being much worse.

I'm 26.

Similar experience to most everyone else. The first one was an annoying throbbing, the second one was downright painful. Had to turn the dang thing off part way through. Both noises would keep me out of a store.

Steve, I thought you liked us! Now I'm thinking this whole experiment was really your sinister plot to blow out as many young ear drums as possible.

If you post a "Steve Don't Eat It" soon, I may be willing to forgive you. :-)

Age: 27

I can hear the sounds in both files. #1 has a pulsing version of the mosquito noise and #2 is just all noise. Quite irritating.

I am 24 and the first one was horrible. It was an extremely high pitched alien-ish noise, and I couldn't stand to listen to the whole recording. The second one was annoying, but not as bad as the first.
#1 made my dog perk his ears up, and #2 had no effect on my dog. (He is 3 so that's 21 in dog years.)

i'm 28 and on clip #1 i did hear the high pitched whistle thing.. it was uncomfortable and i had to stop it before it ended, i couldn't take it.
#2 would definitely keep me out of a store, it almost gave me seizures..

21 years old and i agree with most of the ones i read. There is an annoying buzz in the first one and an annoying squeal in the second... neither of which were plesant.

I'm 24. Didn't think my hearing was all that great but both sounds hurt.. the second one hurt so bad that I covered my ears with my hands as a sort of panic-induced reflex. It took me a second to think to click it off. Now every electronic noise in my house is making my skin crawl..

OW!

I'm 23. I'm amazed that I heard either of them, since I'm a concert whore and have been to > 200 concerts in my life including some incredibly loud ones (AC/DC.)

Anyway, I heard both. And both are annoying enough to keep me away from things -- the first one I can *handle*, but the second one made me want to claw my eyes out with a fork.

I'm 18 years old. The story sounded pretty far-fetched to me. I gave those sounds a listen, and the first one didn't sound like anything much. There was a faint roaring behind the crowd noise, but that was all.
The second one- Oh GOD, that was TERRIBLE! It almost physically hurt!

I'm 43 and the first one made me crap my pants. Actually they both did - and that was before I even listened to them.

It sucks to get old.

Okay - I am Male, 28, with admittedly craptacular hearing.
#1 - Street noise with a high-pitched, modulating whine.
#2 - High-pitched whine, very faint, nothing to get really excited or annoyed about.

So then I made my wife listen in - she's 26.
#1 - Street noises and "the noise the microwave makes only more like a siren" (WTF?)
#2 - "Yuck. What a horrible noise. Okay. Turn it off now. NOW."

Finally, in the interest of science, I had one of our daughters listen to it - she's 6.
#1 - "What do you hear?" "I hear cars... monkeys... a noise" "what is the noise?" "I dunno." "Is it a good noise?" "No."
(Monkeys? WTF Again!)
#2 - She immediately put her hands over her ears. When I asked what she heard, she replied "A Yucky Noise."

So there you have it - Science Prevails, the noise is Yucky, and the women in my family hear some damn strange things in the world around them.

The first one is a much higher pitch than the second. To me, that was closer to the tv sound that my parents never heard. Even today, I wander into my parents' rooms to turn off the tv's while they are sleeping because of that noise. They NEVER notice it

The 2nd one is much lower in pitch, and only slightly less annoying because it is not pulsating. It becomes the ringing in your ear after a while, so it CAN be tuned out.

I would definitely avoid a store with the first one though

I thought I couldn't hear anything but ambient noise in #1, but after reading comments and then leaning in really close to my computer (I don't have stand-alone speakers) I could hear the rhythmic pulse. It's about a half-second cycle, maybe a little slower. I think I didn't notice it at first because my computer is already giving off a lot of noise in the same frequency.

I did Ochen's tone test and I can just hear 16,000 hz. Maybe I might get 17,000 hz in a silent booth.

I'm 35.

When I was a kid both my little brother and I were driven mad by the whining noise of store security systems. I remember it particularly around the jewellry counter at Sears.

30 years old

For the first one, I heard a faint pulsing high pitch squeek over the street sounds, like the world's smallest cricket. The second one was much more annoying and audible to me, a sustained whine.

(25 y/o)
I have listened to Ochen K's tones.
- 16000Hz is audible at a standard speaker level.
- 17000Hz I can also hear, but is more faint.
- 18000Hz was nothing.

Then I turned my speakers up. They are nothing special: Altec Lansing 2.1 middle-of-the-line speakers.
So I turned the volume all the way up and listened to 18000Hz.

It was heinous. I couldn't get through 5 seconds the first time, so I tried it again...

I recommend to all pain junkies to try it a few times, perhaps listen to it for a few minutes. Surely, you will gouge your brain out through your ears with a spoon.

I listened to the first one and heard only street noise. When I played the second one, I heard nothing, but my wife immediately looked at me from across the table and said, "What the hell are you doing?!" She could hear it and it drove her crazy. Since I could hear nothing at all, I quite enjoyed playing it over and over again. I think I might even put this one on my mp3 player and see if I can trick her into listening to the, "Great new song I downloaded today!"

34

The first one didn't bother me at all. The 2nd one is awful when turned on all the way. If I heard the sound in the office for any extended period of time I'd say "WTF is that high pitched sound? Does anyone else hear that?" It was really annoying and ouched my ears.

I'm a 33-year-old male and I heard both very clearly. The second was just plain annoying and I would leave if I heard that in a store. The first was an annoying "pulse" of very high pitched sound over the top of the gigglers.

I just turned 25.

The first one is annoying, like the sound a TV makes- I can hear even from another room.

The second one I couldn't listen, I had to turn it off. That would keep me away from their precious store.

I'm 21, and the first one caused me some serious discomfort. I can totally see the Mosquito being an effective teen deterrent.

27 and can hear both of them. They both annoy me.

Like other people have said, I can always hear that sound that the TV makes. So annoying.

Couldn't hear anything other than ambient noise in number one.

The squeal in the second one made my teeth hurt and my head still feels strange. I stabbed my ears to get the sound out.

i'm 19, and in the first one, i heard both the ambient sounds and the annoying buzz. and the second one was hooorrible.

First clip: ambient shop noise, girls giggling, etc. Second clip: nothing at all---until I put my ear closer to the laptop speakers. YIKES. I'm still a little uncomfortable. (I'm almost 36, with tinnitus.)

age 24.

Both are really freaking annoying. Kind of a fork-scratching-plate sound that makes my teeth hurt and the back of my neck buzz. I would stay the hell out of that store!

I'm 30, in a band, and my wife tells me I'm going deaf, but I've never had an official diagnosis. I heard both of the tones in the posted sound files.

32

1. Just ambient noise
2. Annoying high pitched squeal

First off, I'm 27.

I have some seriously crappy speakers here at work, but I could hear a 'pulsing' high pitch through the other street noise on #1. Not too bad though.

#2. Sweet Christ. I think my left ear has actually started to bleed.

Aren't there smells that only ne'er do well teens can small? Can't we smear our shops with these? Oh, I'm 32 and I hear both horrible high-pitched noises.

Like a lot of other people, I can hear the buzz/whine/squeal that most electronic equipment puts out. I know when the tv is on but the cable box is off.

That said I didn't hear anything but background type noise in #1, even after cranking the volume. The second one made my teeth itch.

Using Ochen's experiment, at 15,000 Hz the sound was very loud and irriating. At 16,000 Hz it was something that could probably get lost with background noise. I couldn't hear anything over that.

I'm 34.

I'm 16;
The first one was just normal street noise, nothing different.
The second one was so bad, I had to turn it off. My ears are still ringing, I kid you not.
It's a lot like when you stand behind a TV that's on, with that really high-pitched note that you can't quite distinguish, but is really painful to listen to.

I'm a 34 year old male and I could clearly hear a high-pitched "chirping" over the ambient noise in the first one. Definitely annoying. The second one was even worse - very clear and very high-pitched. Even more annoying.

I guess I still have pretty good hearing for my age, which is somewhat surprising since I used to really crank the music when I was younger.

Amusing side note - when I played the first one my dog was in the other room and he started freaking out immediately. So I guess this is a good method of keeping both teens and dogs away!

I'm 28. I could hear the first one and it was annoying, kind of gave me a bit of a headache but I could probably tolerate it for a while. The second one was intolerable and I had to stop it after a second.

I'm 28 and the first is less annoying than the second, but I do hear a throbbing, high-pitched sound that is somewhat annoying at high volumes. The second is super annoying--very high pitched, almost painful sound. I immediately took my headphones off after it started playing.

OMG The first one is slightly annoying. The second one can only be described as pure ear bleeding evil!
I can still hear it even after playing it.

I will be 30 next month.

I'm 20, and could hear a slight whine in the first one, as described as the sound a tv screen makes when left on. The second one had a much more pronounced whine. Both were kinda annoying, and the second was definitely one that would keep me out of a store.

31, tinnitus since I can remember.
clip the first: I hear goggliing, nothing annoying.
clip the second: it's a bit annoying, I could live with in say a convenience store.

Ochen's resamples

18kHz: slight white noise a couple of times.
17kHz: same as above, low volume hi pitch tone.
16kHz: static again, but this time I can't hear the noise, but I can feel my ear hearing it. dunno how to describe that one, really. maybe like anti-noise? whatever...
15kHz: this one is pretty annoying.
14kHz: much more annoying, I can hear a bit of reverb in it too, slight pain.
13kHz: much louder, not quite as annoying.
12kHz: lower pitch, duh. stressful, but no pain.
11kHz & 10kHz: about the same as 12kHz.

Thanks... now I need to go take some more advil... but my stomach is a bit queasy...

I'm 27 and on the first link, I heard a steady high pitched noise in bursts, but nothing too annoying, ould probaby tune it out.

The second link was driving me nuts! To quote cheeken:

"The second one was terrible at high volumes. It would absolutely keep me out of a store, out of someone's pants, or out of ketchup. It's super-high. Ouch."

I'm 33, and I listened with my 11 year old son. On the first clip, I heard the street noise, but he asked me 'what that buzzy noise was'. (I didn't tell him what we were doing, I just told him to listen.) On clip 2, we both winced! Ouch!

I am 34 and the first one i could hear an annoying noise, not sure that would keep me out or not of any store. the second was horrible. i would not go anyplace, anywhere, anytime that was playing that high pitched ear piercing crap.

I'll be turning 20 next month.

I heard the noise in every file I listened to and it ranged from annoying to nearly unbearable (I thought my head was going to explode when I listened to it at 10,000Hz). In any case, it would absolutely keep me out of a store.

I'm 26 and the first one I didn't hear anything. The second one had me gritting my teeth. ick. What a nasty noise!

I'm 32, and I heard the "annoying noise" in both examples. The first one is the same noise as the second one, but a little quieter, and it pulsates. I don't know if it would keep me out of a store or not, but I'd certainly ask the shop owner about it! Incidentally, I can also here actual mosquito (and other vermin) repellers, and I have a hard time staying in the computer monitor section of a tech shop for any length of time.

I'm 20. I could hear the tones in clips one and two. I could also hear the tones in all the clips that Ochen put up on his website. I guess that means I'm a pretty cool guy.

The first one is absolutely annoying boardering on painful, I'd definitely have a killer headache after a minute of that. The second one can only be likened to bursting eardrums and my brain oozing out of my ears. I'm 18, and my parents (49 and 50) were bewildered to see me sitting at the computer covering my ears and trying to click the stop button with my elbow. My brother (12) was there too, and is ecstatic that it doesn't bother him. I'm immediatly trashing the files and wiping the internet history. Hopefully he won't find The Sneeze or any audio files of the Mosquito teen repelent.

The first one I hear street noise, the second one - nothing. 37 year old ears - maybe that's the problem.

I'm 30 years old and have rockstar hearing(y'know, misspent youth standing next to th' speakers) ...or so I thought.
The first tone had a rhythm that sounded like a car going over a metal bridge, but higher-pitched. And going over a bridge doesn't make me nauseous, but this sure did.
Tone #2 - nearly tipped me over, what with the violent recoiling and all. Gah! I can still feel it in my fillings.

How would these stores ever be able to hire employees, given th' age range of those of us over 25 who can hear those tones? I'd quit halfway through th' interview.

I'm 26.

I listened to the first one all the way through a couple of times. At first, I didn't hear the pulse at all, just the street noises. But, when I knew what I was supposed to be listening for, I heard it. I agree that it would get pretty annoying after a while.

Then I listened to the second one. I can only describe it as the devil climbing through my speakers and stabbing his pitchfork into my eardrum.

Turned 24 two weeks ago. I hear street noise in the first one: traffic, girls giggling, kids laughing.

The second one gave me that feeling you get when you put aluminum foil in your mouth. I didn't like that.

I am 17... sound #1 did indeed pulsate, and when mixed with the street noise, it sounded like a car with a squeaky wheel or something. #2 drove me absolutely nuts...actually my math teacher's computer monitor would always make that sound and it would screw me up during tests! I listened to #1 again because at first I didn't think it was horrible, but now I still feel like I'm hearing it...as if it's a song stuck in my head. AHHH

The first one is definitely a pulsating high pitch. Somewhat annoying, but not too bad considering the ambient street noise that goes with it.

The second one I had to turn off almost immediately because it was extremely high pitched and my ears couldn't take it.

I'm 19, so I guess the thing would work as a deterrent, but I don't really know if noise will keep teenagers away.

I'm 32 years old and while listening to the two samples, I could hear nothing in #1 and a definate high pitch in #2. My 30 year old wife however could hear what sounded like a high pitched "cricket" in the first one, and came into the office from the laundry room to tell me to turn it off.

I'm 25 this August. I couldn't hear the 1st and the 2nd was there but quite. Thank you to Ochen K, I as skeptical too but your samples are great for comparison. I lose out at about 16k, and even that is very quiet to me.

i hear a pulsating shrill in the first one, it's not very strong but it's still there.

in the second one there's definitely a shrill and i really can't stand it. if it were loud enough i would leave a store i think.

i have headphones on right now but my system volume is only at about 1/4 so it's still pretty low volume.

i'm 20 by the way :)

i just played both at full volume in the office, there's myself, 36, and 2 guys - under 25, and an old lady

no one heard anything at all, no reactions from anyone

Age: 28

#1: whirring squeal
#2: painfully shrill

I am 23 and I definitely heard something in both samples. In the first, I heard that high-pitched whine you hear from electronics, like the TV.

The second was much clearer. It wasn't as high pitched as the first one, but it was prominent enough that I certainly wouldn't like to listen to it while browsing.

A few months back, I saw a story on the news about shop-keepers posting speakers outside their stores to keep teenagers from loitering in front. I understand that business is business, but it seems like the teens are being roughly equated with animals--just pests you can drive away. Furthermore, if the cut-off is 25, do the store owners just lose that business as well? Could they turn it off if someone like me wanted to come buy a friggin' YooHoo?

I can hear both, loud and clear. The first one pulsates and I can barely hear the background noise over it. The second one was painfully loud and high pitched, and I had to turn it off. For the record, I'm 25.

I can hear the whining in the second one. Sounds a lot like my 6 year old begging for candy. I can tune that out real easy.

First one sounds like a street scene. So what?

I'm a 44 year old woman - OK, closer to 45. The first one sounds like ambient street noise to me, too. The second one sounds like a low humming noise. I don't find either of them as annoying as the sound of a crowd of aimless teenagers.

Yeah...#1 has a pulsing high pitch sound that resembles the sound that I used to hear coming from the television a lot (kind of annoying). #2 sounds like the same sound just less pulsing and louder.

Age: 27

First noise: I definitely hear a high pitch noise behind the crowd. It's grating and might cause me to leave a store after a few minutes, but it's not awful.

Second noise: AGGHHHH!!! This one pierced my brain immediately. I wouldn't set foot within a mile radius of a store broadcasting this.

I'm 23 - the first one was a little irritating, but like Steve said, just sounded like ambient noise, the second one however, gave me GIANT headache that I'm still recovering from. Yeah, I'd stay the hell away from that place.

On the first one it sounded like a highly pitched whistle (though not a football type). The second was crowd. I could distinguish a girl laughing and muffled traffic. The interesting part to me, was that although my chidren (one 6 and one 3) heard the noise, they didn't seem overly agitated, though my pekingese dogs absolutely went wild with the second sound! I was not that bothered by either, I am a 37 year old woman.

I'm turning 20 in a month

#1 is a throbbing with a slight high pitched whistle, annoying but not unbearable.

#2 is incredibly painful to listen to, very high pitched whistle.

I called my 31 year old sister over and she couldn't hear anything with #2, she said all she could hear was my computer fan.

I noticed nothing unusual in the first one. The second one made a thick green fuzz sprout immediately on my teeth (not unlike the Amazing Sheep), and I wanted to claw out my eardrums with a bent fork.

Have a nice day!

aged 15 can hear both horrible sounds.
According to Ochenks files, can hear 18kHz as well... its faint, but there.

I'm 39... #1 sounded like background noise on a street. I couldn't hear anything when I played #2.

I had my 11yo son listen. He said #1 wasn't annoying, but he could definitely hear #2.

I played the different frequencies... I could only hear up to 12000... my son could hear up to 16000.

The first one is an annoying, high-pitched, somewhat uncomfortable pulsating tone.

The second one hurts. I turned off the mp3 over 2 minutes ago and it still feels like someone's shoving needles into my eardrums. I also have a headache now. Based on prior experience, I'd say the pain in the eardrums will last for at least 1/2 hour, and the headache an hour or more.

If my ears start bleeding, I'm so blaming you, Steve. :P

# 1 sounds like white noise but not terribly intrusive.

#2 was inaudible to me, of course I could just be going deaf.

I'm 31. Damn kids are on my lawn again.

Whoops, I forgot the age. I'm 20. It's also been a few minutes and my ears are still ringing. My sense of hearing feels rather muffled, like someone stuffed my ears with cotton, but I can still hear most sounds just fine. My equilibrium's also not working the way it should.

That second noise would keep me away from just about anything.

Seems there are a lot of readers hovering around 25-30. I'm 27, and both tones annoy the hell out of me. I also heard all of ochenk's tones perfectly. I'm pretty amazed actually, because I was a drummer in high-school, and later in a bad bar band, and I would have thought my hearing had been hopelessly damaged.

#1-Noise and pulsating whistle-slightly annoying, and would probably get me out of somewhere after a while.

#2-High pitched whistle. VERY annoying. I'd leave after not much time at all.

Age: 23

I'm 30 and I could definitely hear a faint *beep beep beep* in the first audio file.

But that second one? WHOOO! Both me and my cat jumped at the awful piercing high-pitched squealing noise. Just awful.

I couldn't hear anything in the first one more than crowd noises. Yes, the second one was faint but pierced right through the brain, even with the office noises hissing around me here.

I am 42, but I have done work as a sound guy. I might be generally more sensitive/aware. Still, shopkeepers annoying me doesn't sound like a very good idea, as I do have money, and occasionally spend it.

It is strange that stores would be wanting to keep teenagers out, since most advertising is geared towards them. They are more easily influenced to buy, and change brands, than adults. Stores should find a tone that makes teenagers want to spend money. Like, Death Cab for Cutie tone or something.

My mother is 62 years old and has always had extraordinary hearing (not so good when I am trying to sneak into the house at two in the morning.) and she heard both of the sounds in the mp3's but she stopped hearing the tones at 13,000 Hz. I could hear all of them all the way up to 18,000 I am 18.

I'm 18 the first one would annoy me enough to not stick around a store but the second one while slightly annoying doesn't have the pulsing effect and I've adjusted to hearing it.

I put this on the speaker system bout half an hour ago in the building where I'm temping and only me and the other two temps (One 18 the other 22) could hear the sound out of a good 50 people there (most over age 40)

I am 2 months away from turning 30, female, and I could hear very annoying high pitches in both clips. It was annoying to the point I couldn't let them play to the end.

It would work to get me to avoid the stores entirely, but I'd be more likely to be there to spend money, not to hang out.

Well, I'll be. I let my kids listen to these.

First clip:

14 year-old: She says is a loud annoying screechy noise.

9 year-old: He heard Subway noises. (We're from rural Texas...subway noises?)

The second one:

14 year-old: She screamed and made me turn it off.

9 year-old: He heard "DEEEEEEEE!!"

I heard nothing, as I've said. Here I thought it was a drag being old. Ha! Well, it is, but at least I can't hear the screeching. :)

1 was nothing big, but 2 made me toss the earphones off my head immediately.. Damn that would kill me in a store .. I'm 25.

I'm 28. On the first one I hear an pulsing high-pitched sound within the crowd sounds that I found fairly annoying. The second one was essentially the same sound but really amplified and I couldn't listen to it for longer than 2 seconds because it was painful.

I'm 36/m and I heard both buzzes. The first one wouldn't keep me out, but the second one would.

i just heard street noise on the first, and a slight high pitched noise on the second. when i clicked on the link that goes from 10-18kHz though, 10-13 were really loud and high pitched, and 14-18 were just the quieter high pitch, probably just the background noise, sounded kinda like a turbine spinning up. motorcycles and loud music have effed my hearing pretty good i guess...

I'm 32 and the first one sounds like I've a got a window open...nothing major. The second one however is terrible. It feels like someone is pinching my eardrums. Couldn't I have had the body an 18 year old rather than the eardrums of one? Sigh...

I'm 21 and I heard the first one clearly, the most annoying part about it is the way it pulses. The second one is just horrible. If I had to listen to that, especially at high volume, for any extended period of time, I would have to kill myself. And I'm used to ringing like that because I have tenitis, so my ears have rang 24/7 for as long as I can remember.

24 FEMALE.....
First one sounds like someone had their ear up against a wall listening to the teenage girls next door doing well.... nevermind.

the second one makes me want to bury my head. And my poor 17 week old Doberman puppy hates me now.

nice try Steve, but after reading the above comments, there ain't no way I'm going to purposely play those sounds..I'm going to take everyones word for it that they are annoying

Ugh, both are horrible! The sound on my computer was pretty low and it was so bad that my boyfriend and I both made a face and tried to turn it off. (We're both 20).
Ick!!

16 year old over here and I can confidently say that both those sounds would give me a seizure if I were subjected to it for a period of time. Or at least an annoying persistant twitch at the very least.

# 1 was a whirling, slightly more tolerable, sound you'd think a bat on speed would make.

#2 = Good Lord save me. This was awful. Its the audio equivalent to chewing on foil with fillings in all your teeth. I'm scared.

OUCH!! My ears T_T OMG that second one hurt so bad~ I'm a 19 year old girl, and I definitely hear both sounds in the tracks. The second one seems much higher pitch then the first. The author of this message is right about the ambience sound in the back, but I could barely stand trying to find it. I need an asperine now XD
Btw, my sis right next to me, who is 17 heard them both just as clearly as I did. Oh, and my dad, who is 49 heard the ambience, which made him look up, but he pulled a real awkward face when the both of us squeeled from the high pitch in the second soundtrack.

Neither of our parents ever hear these anoying sounds, nor remember ever having heard sounds like these when they were younger. Like when they scratch their cutlery over a china plate. I hate it when they do that, but they are surprised everytime I tell them.
PS: My ears are still ringing...

I'm 31, male, and can hear the high-pitched tones in both samples, though my laptop speakers don't reproduce them as well as my Sennheiser headphones.

I read an article not too long ago about classical music being used to deter crime with similar effect in the UK: http://www.scena.org/columns/lebrecht/050120-NL-thugs.html

IMHO, this would be a much more pleasant solution for those of us over the age of 25 who can still hear the mosquito buzz.

we just tested everyone here at work. voila. i don't know about the age thing being a factor.
check our results.

age first sound second sound

24 kind of yes
25 no yes
28 yes yes
30 no no

The results are not consistent with age, but all who heard the noises were very annoyed. Maybe this should be used as a new weapon of mass destruction.
We'll call it the Noise Up-Chuck Maker.

I just turned 25 a little over a month ago, and here is my take on the tones.

#2 is annoying, but wouldn't slow me down.

#1 almost instantly gave me a headache that I could feel pulsing with the tone behind my eyes. I would make a bee line to get out of ear shot of this tone as fast as I could if heard it in a shopping center.

I'm a 40 YO female who somehow possesses the fountain of youth when it comes to eardrums.

The first sound - faint, but irritating
The second sound - Sweet Buttered Moses that HURT!! Also sent the cat from a deep sleep into the other room with a look of terror.

I'm 18, and both of those sounds annoyed the CRAP out of me. The first one was a bit muddy, because of the ambient noise, but it was definitely annoying. The second one reminded me of those cheap dog whistles that don't go quite high enough to not be heard. Ouch. I wouldn't go to a store that employed that noise, but not because it is annoying. I wouldn't go because using an annoying soundwave to repel teenagers seems wrong to me. What are we, mosquitos?

I'm 26. The first one, while I couldn't make out the throbbing whine others have described, made me feel rather unsettled- it was the kind of sound that would really creep me out if I were, say, playing Resident Evil or watching a show about haunted houses.

The second one was just purely irritating. It was like when your ears are ringing and just won't quit.

33yo female... didn't hear anything on either one, except for the street noise in the first one.

and when I listened the different clips Ochen posted, I didn't hear anything above 13,000Hz. damn!!!

I'm 32. In the first one I didn't hear anything. The second one definitely had a high pitched squeal that I could hear slightly. Funny thing though - my 3 year old did not like the sounds of either of them at all! He wanted me to turn it off!

#1 yup, high pitched pulsating tone... the kinda thing that I would notice subconsciously at first but become aware of after about 15 seconds. My wife said she "might" be able to hear something, but nothing that she would notice if she weren't looking for it. A LOT like a screeching television. My wife can never hear it, but I'm pretty sure it never escapes my attention.

#2 We both hear just an annoying whine. Oddly, after hearing the second one the first one didn't seem to stand out as much when we replayed it.

On a side note, the assorted MP3s on the linked page were all audible to us.

We're both 25, she'll be 26 in a week.

This is Psyferre's wife. =) I just wanted to add that while the second noise was annoying as hell (and would definantly keep me out of a store), it didn't seem particularly painful....until about 20 seconds after it stopped and I noticed my temples throbbing...ugh.

I'm 21, and in #1, it was a constantly "up and down" changing pitch, something like you'd hear if Rick Moranis shrank a cop car instead of his kids. #2 was just a really high pitched sound that would be really annoying to a lot of people, but I'm a heavy metal musician so it didn't faze me much :D I also listened to all the pitches submitted by Ochen K, and was able to hear them all - the 18,000Kh made a very slight sound, and more than anything gave me a visual of a very thin needle passing through my brain...but once again it wasn't all too unpleasant due to my resistance to those kinds of sounds lol. And as far as getting it as a ringtone, I punched the URL into my Motorola V220, and yep, it played stingingly clear. Finally...psychological warfare at work!

I was skeptical at first, as would be expected. I am 31 years old, but have excellent hearing. The first is definitely just crowd noise, softer than you would hear at a typical restaurant.

The second, on the other hand, seemed to reach out and smack me directly in the eardrums with tiny hammers. I only played it for a few seconds, but I can STILL feel it banging me in the head. This would keep me out of anywhere if you played it. Holy Canoli.

18, and the first sound pulsated directly in the center of my skull. I could feel it, and I think that it disrupted some important synapses. The second sound made my eyes water and I couldn't move from the crouch-like position I had assumed. It is many awful and terrible things, somehow collected and condensed into sound waves. Is there anything strong enough to relieve the tension in my head?

Sidenote:
I was going to now play the clips for a coworker and see what she thought, but after listening to #2 5 minutes ago, I have a throbbing in my temples and have noticable ear pain.

Thanks Steve, you will be hearing from my attorney if/when I go deaf.

I'm at school and put the second clip on. Every kid is about to jump down my throat and murder me for it. Honestly, I feel like throwing up now.

I have an extreme case of tinitus that I can't get rid of, and #2 is pretty much a sound I hear at all times in the back of my mind, but when heard through my EARS it makes me clutch my head for dear life...By the way, thanks for almost KILLING ME with number one...When my brain explodes I will not be very happy with you, Steve. If anyone can gimmie any info on tinitus cures, feel free to email me

18, I went back and listened to the list of pure tones and could hear distinctly all of them, and then I could feel them passing through my mind. Even after I turned down the volume, I cringed. I am trying not to pee in my pants when I play them at full volume. Also, when I played the pure tones on Windows Media Player, some/most made the Spike Visualization create a pretty flower pattern.

Well number one is just street noise with a slight background humm.

Number two is a very annoying buzz. Maybe it's my imagination but I swear I can still hear it. My ears actualy hurt just a little from that.

I'm 21 by the way.

The first one all I could hear was a slight buzzing sound.

The second one was a really high pitched and annoying whistle.

I just thought of something:

What if this noise was intentionally put into copy-writed music? It probably put a stop to teenagers downloading the music, and such significantly reducing piracy.

What do you all think?

Speaking as a teenager, when I listened to those clips you put up, they were nasty. Number 1 wasn't as bad as Number 2, which was earsplitting, so maybe you just don't have the ears to hear it. I heard both clips loud and clear though, so for those of you who are saying that you're in your thirties and that it's nothing but a hoax, you're dead wrong. After listening to those clips for the two seconds it took me to scramble to the "X" button at the top of my screen, I assure you that this would drive me and my friends out of a store very quickly.

Im 24 and thats the worst noise i have ever heard.

i hear it, on both, and the second one hurts. The first one pulses, the second one is like a needle through my brain. I'm 24, and I would stay away from anything emitting that noise, storefronts, televisions, tacos, dogs, old ladies, etc.

I am 29 and have pretty good hearing in general.
#1. I couldn't hear anything unusual over the street noise.
#2. Yeah, horrible whine sound.

I also went through the various frequency tones that guy posted on his site at 10kHz to 18kHz. I could hear them all the way up through the 16kHz one, but then they got out of my range on the 17 and 18.

P.S. I second Troy's post about needing another "Steve Don't Eat It"

heard both. 26 yo, 27 in 1 month.

I'm 27 and I could hear both tones pretty easily. Televisions emit a similar tone, which I've noticed that my wife and most of my peers can't hear. It used to drive me nuts when my wife would turn off our cable box but leave the TV on, because I'd hear that noise whenever I walked into the room.

I'm 32... and a musician who's been exposed to very... very loud musicial (or depending on the band, maybe not-so-musical) environments for the past 18 years.

However, I can still hear the high pitch pulse in #1 (through cheap headphones), and the high pitch whine in #2.

I liked Ochen's experiment. Either, my hearing range still goes up to 17kHz, or the frequency response of my cheap headphones doesn't go up to 18kHz. I'll have to try again with my nice cans at home.

So who knows the frequency response of cellphone speakers? I'd be interested in seeing the data.

I'm 26 (and a half), and I can hear that pulsating high-pitched squeaky whine clear as day in #1. Sure, it's annoying, but if i was intent on loitering, harrassing older customers, and creating general mischief, it wouldn't deter me. I usually hear the same sound for a day or so after a really good concert...so I'd say the sound is "annoyingly nostalgic".

I'm 30 and could hear both tones. My 18year old coworker could not hear number 1 but did hear number 2. Using Ochen K.'s pure tones, we discovered her hearing tops out somewhere between 14,000hz and 15,000 while I can hear up through 17,000hz.

I'm 24 and almost entirely deaf in one ear and so I didn't expect much.

I do hear the first sound, though, and it bugs me a little. It's very faint. Mostly I hear a keening whine. If