Can you hear me now?
This is old news, but studies have shown that human hearing decreases with age. In fact, teenagers have better hearing than adults in their 30s and older. To take advantage of this, some shopkeepers set up speakers that pulse a 17khz frequency tone that only teenagers can hear. Apparently the noise is so bothersome that it keeps teens away, while not bothering adults.
Teenagers soon caught on to this fact and started using the "Mosquito tone" as a ringtone so that they could use their cell phones during class and not alert their teachers to what they were doing.
So this morning, Pieter and I decided to test our hearing to see the highest frequency we could hear. We used this website: http://www.tinyurl.com/ytx5n5
As a 29 year old, I should be an acoustical old fogey, but I was able to hear the 17khz as well as a very faint buzz at 18khz. Pieter, who is 25, couldn't even hear the 16khz! The other night I tested Carolyn and she could barely hear 16khz but nothing at 17khz!
Another co-worker in the lab could barely hear the 16khz and blamed it on the East Coast rap she listened to as a kid.
How good is your hearing? What can you hear?
Comments
It was interesting taking the test though...I'll have to send it to my parents and see what they can hear.
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