mosquito teen repellent and autistic annoyer

Kristina Chew blogged recently about The Mosquito, a device that emits a high-pitched obnoxious whine that is generally only detectable by people under 25, and is used to deter teens from hanging around a given area. As we age, our ears lose the ability to detect really high sound frequencies, so it doesn’t bother adults with normal hearing. It seems to drive many autistic people up the wall, however, whatever their age, so some businesses are not going to use The Mosquito any longer. (Here’s a BBC article about the device, if you’d like a little background.)

So, my question is, can you hear it? Post yes or no, along with your age if you dare, in the comments.

It’s the pulsing “beep beep beep” noise, not the voices and background noise. I expect nearly everyone who’s not hard of hearing or deaf can hear that.

47 thoughts on “mosquito teen repellent and autistic annoyer

  1. I can, I’m 34, and it’s annoying enough that I’d leave a store so I wouldn’t have to hear it. All my kids can hear it too, and I’ll check with Sean.

  2. 32 and I think I barely heard it at the beginning. C said “what’s that instrument playing? It sounds like a car…” I’ll take her word for it! 😉

  3. I can’t hear it, I’m 25. I’ve heard of this but never been anywhere that it is playing to test out!

  4. I’m 23, and not only can I hear it, it gave me a headache after a mere 5 seconds or so of listening to it. Horrible!

  5. I had to turn it way up, but I could hear it. I think that once I noticed it would bug me. Niels said, “I kind of liked it, but not really.”

  6. OMG that gve me a headache instantly. I shut it off before the kids got to listen. I’m 26 and I heard it loud and right away.

  7. I’m 37, and I heard it, as did my 8-year-old son. My DH, age 40, didn’t hear it. It seemed to get louder and more irritating the more I listened to it.

  8. Yeah, Mike can hear it. He’s 29. I couldn’t get an answer out of Bea without a leading question.

  9. Eeeek! Yes, I (27) can hear it. What an annoying noise. It made my neck muscles tense up. I couldn’t concentrate with that noise anywhere… Sam, however could not hear the ear piercing only the people and a hammer? in the background.

  10. I can’t hear it, but my 11 year old can. I’ve heard that it is being used by high school students as a ring on their cell phones to be able to text each other and cheat on tests since the teacher can’t hear it.

    Can I be honest and admit that I wish I could have done that? Especially in chemistry….oh that Periodic Table…

  11. I hear sort of a whish whish whishing at the beginning if I turn it up REALLY high, but it instantly makes me dizzy at any volume. I’m 33. The same thing happened when I 1st heard it about 3 or so years ago. G’AH! Now I have a raging migraine!

    I would definitely avoid any place that used that.

  12. I can just barely hear it, but it instantly felt like I was being stabbed in the ears and had to turn it off because I was getting an instant headache. 38yo

  13. I will be 37 on Friday. If I turn the sound on my computer all the way up, I can hear it clearly — in my right ear only (I learned this when I turned my head from side to side). It’s a very annoying sound, to be sure. But more annoying is the idea that my hearing is less than perfect. Ach, getting old. Who needs it?

  14. I’m 32 yrs. old and can definitely hear that annoying sound. It’s a constant high-pitched beeping sound. I really think this device should NOT be used. I also have asperger syndrome so I’m all for replacing the mosquito with something different. Actually I agree that Mozart music instead of this irritating noise is great!

  15. yes–& i’m 28. but i think i’d be able to tune it out, maybe. it’s nice that they’re looking into different options, though.

  16. Maybe the speakers on the laptop aren’t great, but I (29) didn’t hear it nor did my girls (6).

  17. Michaelie and I could not hear it (8 and 26 years old) but Paul definitely did (23 years old).

  18. I heard it, but it wasn’t that bad. I mean, I wouldn’t want to listen to it on my morning commute, but it was kind of interesting.

  19. My 8 and 11yo both heard it, but I didn’t (43yo). My 11yo said it made her feel like her ears were bleeding!

    On a related note, my 16yo told us about this phenomenon, and complained that his car was making this HORRIBLE sound. My husband and I couldn’t hear it, but my other two kids could! :O

  20. I couldn’t hear it, but now my ears are bleeding. 🙂
    No, really, I didn’t hear anything but background noise and Zep said he only heard the ocean and kids laughing. Now though, but ears feel funny and my sinuses hurt, so even though I wasn’t conscious of hearing it, I was hearing it.

  21. Yes I can hear it, but it’s actually more a problem that I FEEL it. Makes me want to crawl out of my skin. I would leave a place if they were using it. I’m 42.

  22. I’m 40 and I hear it. Does that mean I have young ears or I’m on the autism spectrum? 🙂

  23. No. I’m 29. I did however go google hunting and came up with a sound clip of a ringtone based after the mosquito and I could hear that.

  24. Yes on my right ear, not as much on my left. The volume on my PC speakers should be set to at least a 2 on a 1-10 scale. If I turn the volume up to its maximum, it’s still bearable though I wouldn’t want to be around it for long. It’s like the sound emitted by a ultra high-pitched bug. I’m 31 years, 6 months old. 🙂

  25. I am 56 and am hyper aware/alert/vigilant. I hear people’s radios from 1/2 a mile away when they wake in the night and switch on classic channels. So as soon as they played the mosquito on radio 4 today, I heard it LOUD and CLEAR and yes, after a few minutes, it would really be torment.

    Being told I was a “Neanderthal” in my body form by an osteopath, it is not surprising that my senses are sharp as a horse’s!!!

    It is an affliction though, believe me, and not much consolation as a “gift”. I am always the first to sense ANYTHING and the osteo’s first question after seeing my shape was ” DO YOU HAVE SECOND SIGHT”!!!

  26. yes i do hear it, but it either looks like my laptop speakers are gonna burn soon or the “freakin” noise is distorded from an input volume too high. .I’m 26

  27. I’m 28 – I can hear it. Some kids have it on their iPhones too and apparentlly it’s called the teen annoyer. It annoys me too. I hate it.

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