Cell phone ring tone adults can't hear, But kids can Options

[dauss]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stor...4B?OpenDocument

Kids can hear it, but their teachers probably can't. A high-pitched ring tone allows students to exchange text messages during class without older ears hearing the cell phones ring.

Local teens say that the ear-piercing ring - nicknamed Teen Buzz - would be fun to use but is not necessary for in-class text messaging.

"You can just put your phone on vibrate or silent and watch the light go off," said Caroline Renfro, who just graduated from Clayton High School.

The tone originally was used in Wales as a loitering deterrent called the Mosquito Teen Repeller. Now teens have created their own version of the piercing sound and are selling it on the Internet for $2.99.

The downloadable ring tone, which could be heard - or not - this spring in East Coast classrooms, is moving west. Katy Scabaugh, 17, of Webster Groves High School, has heard about the high-frequency ring but has not used it, she said as she and classmate Wendy Kogel, 17, sunned themselves Monday at the Webster Groves Recreation Complex pool.

"I've heard that it hurts your ears," Scabaugh said.

Other local teens said that they would use the downloadable ring tone.

"I think I would probably get it and use it but probably not during class," said Gennie Palmer, 13, from Annunciation School in Webster Groves. "It's mean to teachers. It's their job to help you learn. I can wait till recess to talk to friends."

Grace Rice, 13, also a student at Annunciation, said: "I'd pay for it and use it during class. It gets pretty boring taking notes in class."

Teen Buzz does not appear to have become prevalent in local schools. "I haven't heard that this ring tone is a problem or an issue here," said Cindy Gibson, assistant to the superintendent for communications in the Ritenour School District.

At 17,000 Hertz, Teen Buzz falls within the highest of pitches noticeable to humans, who can hear as low as 40-50 Hz and as high as 20,000 Hz.

"Because the range of hearing varies greatly in individuals, it is possible that the teachers who do not hear this ring tone have never been able to hear up to the 17,000 range," said Stanton Jones, an audiologist at the St. Louis University School of Medicine. "Or age-related hearing loss may make the tone undetectable."

Children can hear high pitches. "Age-related hearing loss, or presbycusis, begins around age 35 with the highest pitches being lost first," Jones said.

So will the ring tone add to hearing loss?

Hearing these high-pitched ring tones should not accelerate hearing loss as long as the volume is not too high, Jones said.

http://www.freemosquitoringtone.com/?gclid...CFQxfSgod3lKBsQ
download and try it out for yourself. It seems to be related to how good your speakers are. I played it out of these 8 year old + altec lansing speakers and I could barely hear it. I then played it out of my laptop speakers and it was piercing.

[Testm0nkey]

im going to get this and never answer

[Divergent Realit...]

im going to get this and never answer

you can always claim you didnt hear it

BRILLIANT!

[woody]

my bro has this on his phone

it's funny as shit casue my oldest sis can't hear it.

but when he played it, my 6yr old nephew came running in telling to turn it off

i was laughing my ass off

[Spectatrix]

I wonder what frequency that pitch is at. Full range of human hearing is usually 20 Hz to 20 MHz. When I had my hearing tested by frequency a few years ago, I could hear 10 Hz to 17 MHz.

[Xentither]

I can hear 0hz!

Walls are really noisy!

[chook]

my hearing isn't that bad yet!

[Psykopath]

I can hear 0hz!

Walls are really noisy!

I can hear tectonic plates shifting as well as the buzzing of atoms!

[woody]

i can hear lance's thoughts

[rabble]

one step closer to banning cel phones in class.

[fingercuffs]

one step closer to banning cel phones in class.

good

[Spectatrix]

If kids in my classes had rings like that, I'd probably break their fucking phones.

[M1N10N]

I wonder what frequency that pitch is at. Full range of human hearing is usually 20 Hz to 20 MHz. When I had my hearing tested by frequency a few years ago, I could hear 10 Hz to 17 MHz.

I think 10HZ-25MHZ was the range ... its just all that rock music cuts it down to 20MHZ. and its very hard to find an audio device that goes below 20Hz

[RitalinJunkie]

If kids in my classes had rings like that, I'd probably break their fucking phones.

I'd just take their phone, send them to a week of detention for disruptive conduct and failure to comply with school policy, and have their parents come to get the phone back. Im sure the kid would get ther fair share of shit from their parents for that.

yay for that sheet that parents sign in the back of the student handbooks that say I can do that.

[nickluto]

If kids in my classes had rings like that, I'd probably break their fucking faces open.

fify