I’m 22 and I heard it loud and clear. It didn’t really annoy me. Being afflicted with tinnitus for the last several years, I hear much worse on a daily basis. Having said that, my ears are ringing louder than usual after having played it. Also one of my eyes has started bleeding. And I think I just wet myself.
Yes. Evil. Ow.
I’m 26 and also hear muted TVs.
I hear a continous high pitched ‘eeeeeeeeeee’ noise.
I’m twenty.
Totally heard it, it hurt. Only left it on for 1/2 a second. And it freaked out my cat and my dog left the room. I’m 25, the cat is about 3 and the dog is about 5.
Once I turned the volume up I heard it. I didn’t leave it on too long because it (as it was designed to do) hurt my ears.
I’m 22.
Those drive me nuts!!!
Yep, I heard it and it was quite loud compared to the other voices; when the whine was approaching the level of being too loud, I could still barely hear anything else. It’s offensive to mosquitos to call it that, they’re not so annoying. The sound was on constantly, but went in a steady wee-ooo-wee-ooo. I didn’t find it to be painful, but I don’t know how loud it would be in reality.
Given that it’s so high pitched, I imagine young rapscallions like me could just put in ear plugs and talk loudly enough to hear each other. I don’t think high-frequency waves penetrate well. I had some earplugs, so I could test it, but they were getting way too nasty and had to go in the circular file. Maybe I’ll pick some up and try it again.
It’s amusingly ironic that a very high-spending demographic is also being annoyed by it.
I love that kids are using it to get away with stuff, and one teacher’s response to this behavior:
The police love it. :rolleyes: I’m sure they’ll be loving it when kids start using it to signal each other in manners the cops can’t hear and use it to keep distracted from their jobs.
By the way, this particular rapscallion is 36 years old.
yeah I heard it – and I have my volume way down. It was horrible
I’m 27
Odd. I’m 39, and I could hear a thing. But both the original link and the link of just the sound make me feel nausiated.
Yep, I hear it. Sounds like an ultrasonic…something. It made my head feel as if it was stuffed with cotton. Odd sensation.
I’m 33.
I’m almost positive this is the same high-pitched sound I used to hear as a kid whenever my parents took me to Sears in the mall. I would complain about the sound that hurt my ears and couldn’t wait to get out of there, but my parents never heard it. They just assumed I was tired of looking at paint samples or refrigerators or whatever. Which I was, but the sound was even more annoying than that.
Forgot to add this in the last post. I think it has triggered a migraine for me, actually. 
Also, I wonder what store employees are supposed to do if they can hear this noise? I couldn’t stand it for more than 5 seconds, I can’t imagine having to hear it for 8 hours a day. Gah.
I heard it, and concur, with the exception that it doesn’t bother me at all. I notice it, but I can tune it out if necessary on most occasions.
I’m 22.
I couldn’t hear it at all, but maybe my speakers just suck.
I’m 17.
Aha! I couldn’t hear it the first couple times, but then I turned my volume all the way up. Bweep-bweep-bweep-bweep. Now my ears are ringing.
I’m 38.
18, and I hear it, much louder than the crowd noises. It’s higher than the TV sound, I think. It’s certainly more grating. If I knew that a shopkeeper was using this on purpose to prevent loitering, and it prevented me from going in a nearby shop, I might be tempted to either
a)buy earplugs and loiter just to piss the offending shop owner off, or
b)find a brick and break whatever produces the sound.
Why should a shopkeeper be allowed to use something like this? That could give someone a migraine.
Just a note – after hearing it, I sent the link to RitzyRae and she couldn’t hear it. I wandered over to her office later, and I couldn’t hear it over her headphones, either – so the speakers or headphones you are using might make a difference.
- Yes, I can definitely hear it.
- 39
To me it wasn’t louder than the other noises, but I could definitely hear it. That would drive me crazy if I had to keep hearing it constantly.
Agggggggggh, it’s that horrible horrible sound when the TV is on but the screen is blank that nobody else in my family claims to hear. sob
age: 18.
So my $.94 Wal-Mart headphones might be part of the problem? That’s a relief, at least.
My hearing still sucks, though.
36 years old, can’t hear a thing.
I played with it in SoundEdit and I can see it in the display. It looks like a pulsating sound wave. If I lower the pitch, I can hear it starting at A below middle C, and then again at G above middle C. At one octave above middle C it comes out as a lower pitched warbling sound, like a Star Trek phaser.
Does this mean I’m old enough to loiter?