# Random poll: can you hear this sound? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170 "2009-02-02T23:34:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/81 "2009-02-03T13:52:56Z")
Yeah, I could hear it, but it wasn’t loud. On the other hand, what I did hear of it made me afraid of turning my speakers up at all. It was pretty annoying. The dogs heard it immediately, and are still running around the house trying to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/82 "2009-02-03T15:37:46Z")
I could hear the original link very (annoyingly) clearly, everything below 18K on the mosquito link (though 17.4 was pretty quiet even with my laptop speakers turned all the way up), and again everything below 18000 from **GorillaMan** ’s links. I could just barely feel 18000 in my left ear, but I couldn’t in all fairness call it hearing it. 32, female. I was one of those children that could hear security systems, and the blank television before the teacher started the tape, when even the other kids couldn’t hear it. I’ve had a couple of decades of chronic ear infections since then, though. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/83 "2009-02-03T16:07:26Z")
On **GorillaMan** ’s examples, I could hear up to 19k, though it definitely got fainter and less offensive as the frequency increased–16k was the only tone that I found really annoying. This was through good headphones, but they’re open-backed and I’m sitting next to a relatively noisy PC. ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/84 "2009-02-03T16:24:15Z")
I couldn’t hear anything in the OP’s link or **GorillaMan** ’s links. On the mosquito tones site the highest I could hear was 12. I’m almost 48 and female. And apparently pretty deaf. ---
**Author:** ![AngryIrishLass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bbce88/32.png) [@AngryIrishLass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngryIrishLass)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/85 "2009-02-03T16:38:11Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > 16000Hz > 16500Hz > 17000Hz > 17500Hz > 18000Hz > 18500Hz > 19000Hz > 19500Hz > 20000Hz 43 female here. At 16000 I didn’t hear anything, 16500-17500 I heard something, and again, nothing for the rest. However, at the 19000-20000 range, I noticed that I salivated excessively and now have the sensation that I need to pop my ears. My jaw just feels weird. My dogs and cat hate me now. One dog actually bit the keyboard tray. They are all antsy now (which isn’t good for the one dog with the ruptured disc). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Defenestrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/13edae/32.png) [@The\_Defenestrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Defenestrator)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/86 "2009-02-03T16:40:06Z")
22, female Could hear it, and definitely annoying. I heard the sound up to 18 khz. My mom, 52, could hear it up to 12 khz, and couldn’t hear the sound in the OP’s link. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/87 "2009-02-03T16:59:37Z")
I just played it here at work, and while I couldn’t hear it, my cube neighbor said, “What the hell is that???” He said it hurt. He’s 24. Another woman who is 36 could hear it. I’m 50, FTR. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/88 "2009-02-03T17:07:34Z")
M/41 ouch ouch ouch ouch. Yes. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/89 "2009-02-03T17:09:01Z")
1. Turned my laptop volume all the way up and couldn’t hear anything for the OP or any of **GorillaMan** ’s links. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/90 "2009-02-03T17:10:06Z")
I… :: sob :: couldn’t hear it. ☹ On the linked page with the different samples, I could barely hear the 12 kHz one. This sucks. I definitely remember hearing the 15.75-kHz sound of the horizontal scan in our old TV set. I knew this was happening a couple of years ago, when I was in the sound booth at LIFT and people were complaining that there was one specific spot where they could hear the whine of the monitor… but I couldn’t hear it. I’m 45. ---
**Author:** ![Thalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@Thalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thalion)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/91 "2009-02-03T17:11:14Z")
I’m 45, and I didn’t hear a thing. Not a peep, buzz or static. But I already know that I have high-range hearing loss. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/92 "2009-02-03T17:11:39Z")
I’m 24 and could hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/93 "2009-02-03T17:21:22Z")
**Gorillaman** , could you link some more samples down to, say, 8 kHz? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/94 "2009-02-03T17:25:34Z")
Yes, and it’s horrifying. I could hear it a few years ago, and I still can, I’m 35. Joe ---
**Author:** ![dactylic\_hexameter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@dactylic\_hexameter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dactylic_hexameter)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/95 "2009-02-03T17:50:53Z")
1. I can definitely hear it. Interestingly, while i don’t find the sound pleasant, it doesn’t annoy me all that much. ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/96 "2009-02-03T18:08:08Z")
I’m 49 and I don’t hear a thing unless I turn it up to blasting levels, and then I hear a mild ringing noise. I spent too many years standing in front of the speakers at concerts to have very good hearing, though. ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/97 "2009-02-03T19:13:20Z")
I am a 54 YO man with tinnitus and a wife & kids who constantly complain that I’m deaf, yet I can hear all the sounds (linked above) clearly up to 19.5 kHz. WTF? Also, how much of the posters inability to hear the sounds are due to poor speaker quality on their computers (especially laptops)? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/98 "2009-02-03T19:28:43Z")
I couldn’t hear that sound on my laptop, then figured out that my laptop speakers were turned off. I could hear it fine and screechy on the iMac. 47 year old male who has taken to many beers without a helmet. ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/99 "2009-02-03T19:50:36Z")
1. Didn’t hear a thing. Can barely hear the 10khz ringtone in **Magiver** ’s link. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170/100 "2009-02-03T19:54:30Z")
I heard it clearly. The last one I heard on the mosquito website (and **GorillaMan** ’s links) was 18000. 26 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-poll-can-you-hear-this-sound/484170.md?page=6)