Hearing and Old People. Like me.

hearing aids

I was at my Dad’s house the other day. We walked into his bedroom to get something, and a loud, high-pitched noise hit my ears. When I asked Dad about it, he had no idea what I was talking about.

My siblings could hear it from the hallway, but my dad and step-mom were oblivious. It’d probably been going on for days or weeks and they didn’t notice.

Hello presbycusis!

You may have heard about the “mosquito,” a device that blasts a very loud, very high-pitched sound in order to get rid of loitering teens. People over 30 or so don’t really hear it, but it annoys the kids.

So then kids got hold of it and created a mosquito alert for their phones. Now they can get text messages in class, and most of their teachers won’t hear the alerts. [Link]

Test your own ears and see how old you are:

Test one

Test two

I ran these by my three-year-old who liked them all. My wife hears up to about 16 or 17KHz. I can’t hear much over 14KHz.

4 Responses to Hearing and Old People. Like me.

  1. Lisa D May 10, 2010 at 4:13 pm #

    16Khz was my limit. Guess all those rock concerts have had an impact…

  2. phil May 10, 2010 at 5:05 pm #

    My limit was 17Khz, but I got to drive my dog crazy!

  3. Michael Silver May 10, 2010 at 7:02 pm #

    I couldn’t hear 14Khz, unless I jacked the volume and even then I couldn’t really hear it, I just felt a pressure like sensation. Am I that old?!?!

    My kids and their friends tried the mosquito ring tone. Far too risky. Several of the teachers could hear it.

  4. Bruces May 11, 2010 at 9:14 am #

    I could hear the 13Khz, but only with the volume all the way up. My right ear is less sensitive than my left, only getting 10Khz without the volume high. I guess paying extra for music equipment that produces 20-20 is a waste. I had a professional hearing test last year, and the audiologist told me I have a significant deficit at some specific frequency range, but I don’t remember what the range is. It’s a normal male aging thing; I’m just a couple of decades young for it.

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