# Is this story real about teens using cell tones only they (not adults) can hear? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456 "2006-06-12T18:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/21 "2006-06-12T23:10:52Z")
Woot! 41 and I can hear it. if I turn the speaker all the way up and stick it right next to my ear. that counts, right? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/22 "2006-06-12T23:15:37Z")
37, and I can hear it. My ringtones, when I bother to change them from the default, are snippets of classical music. ---
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/23 "2006-06-12T23:21:46Z")
I couldn’t hear it either. Old Fogey Club Member ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/24 "2006-06-12T23:22:16Z")
53, and I can’t hear a thing. You guys are just yanking my chain, just like those “Magic Eye” pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/25 "2006-06-12T23:42:48Z")
[QUOTE=astro] Or is this BS? [Teens Turn ‘Repeller’ into Adult-Proof Ringtone](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5434687) [/QUOTE] I just saw a news story tonight about kids using this to cheat on tests. question: WHY NOT JUST SET IT TO VIBRATE? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/26 "2006-06-13T00:04:12Z")
I’m 40. I can hear the ringtone sample if I turn my speakers all the way up. But the other one - with the background noise? Don’t hear a thing. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/27 "2006-06-13T00:16:26Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] That’s a good point. If I heard it, I wouldn’ think it was a ringtone. On the other hand, the sample in the New York Times sounded continuously and a ringtone, presumably, wouldn’t. But why don’t they just put their phones on vibrate instead? [/QUOTE] Because that’s what parents and teachers asked them to do. Where’s the fun in obedience? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/28 "2006-06-13T00:23:52Z")
I had to turn the speaker way up, & then I was only hearing an undertone. No surprise. My ears have long been “compromised” (& I’m in my early 30’s). But the existence of such ranges of hearing loss goes a long way toward explaining a recurring trope of my childhood, being surrounded by strange mechanical noise which adults not only tuned out, but seemed ignorant of. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/29 "2006-06-13T00:35:32Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Yay me! I’m nearly 39 and I can hear it quite distinctly. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard higher-pitched tones than that too. [/QUOTE] Can you tell whether a TV or computer monitor is on in a room based on the high pitched whine it makes? My girlfriend swears I’m hallucinating or something, but I swear I can hear the sound that they make. That tone was high-pitched, but the monitor sound is higher still. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/30 "2006-06-13T00:44:10Z")
29, can’t hear it. My husband (who has just turned 30) nearly jumped out of his skin. So I guess we’re 1 all now - he might be able to hear ultra-high frequencies that I can’t, but I can see colours. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/31 "2006-06-13T01:05:51Z")
[QUOTE=bump] Can you tell whether a TV or computer monitor is on in a room based on the high pitched whine it makes? [/QUOTE] I can do this. Hell, I can hear that noise from the other side of the house! I can hear the ringtone too. It actually didn’t seem that high-pitched to me. I was expecting something right on the edge of perception, but I could hear it quite clearly. FWIW, I’m 42. I guess I’ve always been able to hear unnaturally high tones … . ---
**Author:** ![ninevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@ninevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninevah)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/32 "2006-06-13T01:10:42Z")
I’m 27 and I can hear it. Ouch, that hurts. Hate to have that as a ring tone! Although I’m not sure how effective it’d be if there was lots of outside noise. The noise reminds me of the high-pitched buzzing of a dentist’s drill. ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/33 "2006-06-13T01:17:22Z")
48 and I can hear it easily. Its like having burning hot needles shoved into my sinuses. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/34 "2006-06-13T01:26:41Z")
[QUOTE=astro] I just did the hearing test. My God that’s a high tone! I have reasonably good hearing, but I can _just_ barely hear it unless my ear is positioned just right next to the speaker. It’s very directional (to me). It’s almost like I feel it in my head rather than hear it. Weird! [/QUOTE] freaking ouch ☹ That is just plain nasty, it would drive me away from the store. I am 44, and have no trouble hearing it [but then again I used to be a guinea pig for the Navy Sound lab… nothing like spending hours listening for sounds embedded in white and pink noise for cash in air conditioned solitary splendor to while away a summer 😃] ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/35 "2006-06-13T01:28:43Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Ok, I take everything back. I just clicked the sound link in this thread and heard it fine, so I don’t feel so old now. We’re talking about different things: [this is the original ‘sound’](http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/audio/mosquito_sound.mp3) that started the whole brouhaha, and I can’t hear anything at all apart from background ambience. Others, younger than I, have reported hearing a ridiculously high-pitched pulsing over the top of it. [/QUOTE] Again, aged and decrepit 44 year old, and i have no trouble hearing it. ☹ and it is still annoying. They would lose me as a customer fairly fast. ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/36 "2006-06-13T01:53:49Z")
There was another thread about this, now lovingly merged. The two threads are happy together. 🙂 Anyway, someone had wondered this: > [@](#): > > Then again, maybe TV technology has advanced to the point where the sets just don’t make that noise any more. Oh yes, they do. I can always hear it and am always irritated by it. Nobody else ever seems able to hear it, but I’ll always find that there’s a TV on somewhere. I’m not exactly sure why this is so, since I was a musician for years and used (and still use) a LOT of power equipment all the time. However, I have always, always, always used ear protection. My grandfather was stone deaf by 50 from years of playing pedal steel in honky-tonks. I was scared straight at an early age! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/37 "2006-06-13T01:58:20Z")
Also, I heard the original “mosquito” tone. Pretty irritating, especially if it were broadcast over a whole store, but not as bad as the ring tone. Maybe ALL of my clean living habits will get their reward some day. (There’s got to be SOME silver lining to them… 🆒 ) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/38 "2006-06-13T02:05:35Z")
At age 50, I’m rather pleased to say I could hear it (the clean recording, not the one with background sounds), if only just barely. It would certainly never do as a ring tone for me, but I also wonder if, even for people who can hear it easily, it would penetrate a layer of clothing, if you had the phone in your pocket, for instance. What’s the actual frequency (Kenneth)? ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/39 "2006-06-13T02:06:07Z")
Huh, I can’t actually hear it but it makes my ears ache. (39, BTW) ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456/40 "2006-06-13T02:25:42Z")
I may be missing the point of the ring tone the adults can’t hear, but once the phone has rung and the old fogys have not discerned the ringing, said juvenile reprobate has 2 options 1. look see who called, and not answer, the world is none the wise for this illicit attempt at comunication, every one is safe and happy. (the silent/vibrate options mentioned above may be a better way) 2. answer the phone and start gabering away, thus instantly alerting everyone who could hear the ring tone that you are in fact taking a phone call, thus why not let it ring anyway? Or is there some rule that says once you have answered a call it is perfectly OK to witter on, but if a direct or indirect signal is given that you should not even think about answering said call is given prior to the little green button being hit, then one cannot take the call. I’d try playing the sample but the wee sproggos are asleap and I am not about to risk the wrath of toddlers at 11pm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-real-about-teens-using-cell-tones-only-they-not-adults-can-hear/360456.md?page=3)