Thread: Students using new ringtone inaudible to adults

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?secti ... id=4263029

Students using new ringtone inaudible to adults
Could it be true, a ringtone only young people can hear?
Eyewitness News' Jeff Rossen
(New York -WABC, June 12, 2006) - Ever feel like your children have a better handle on how to use their cell phone than you do? Get ready for a brand new twist on that problem, a ringtone you can't even hear.
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Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Rossen shows us how it works.
Don't feel bad. Adults aren't supposed to hear it. That's the point. Kids us it as a way to trick teachers. They can send text messages in class, and the teacher can't hear the ringtone.

Tonight, test yourself.


Area Man: "I don't hear anything. Nothing."

Area Woman: "I don't hear anything and I'm supposed to have very good hearing."

Today, we field tested the new ringtone, downloaded the sound onto a cell phone and hit the street. Without fail the kids got it, adults didn't.

Jeff Rossen: "Can you hear that?"

Area Kids: "Yeah, it's a high, high pitch."

It's a high-pitched tone with a little swooshing. We played the ringtone for a hearing specialist, an ear surgeon at NYU. Could it be true, a ringtone only young people can hear?

Dr. Darius Kohan, NYU Ear Surgeon: "Usually high frequencies are the first to go, around 8,000 to 10,000 hertz, which is really above our speech range that we normally use."

The ringtone originated in England, used to keep kids from loitering around stores because it's annoying. Now it's a ringtone that American kids download for use at school.

Sitting in class they can text each other without the teacher hearing the phone ring.

Area Kids: "They never know when people are calling you on your cell."

Jeff Rossen: "So you could be talking to your friends and the adults have no idea. You think that's cool."

Area Kids: "Yeah. Awesome."

Adults are still left in the cold. It's called the Mosquito Ringtone and it'll cost you $2.99.

The Official Mosquito Ringtone can be found in two versions, one for phones in the U.S. and one for phones in the U.K. To get it, visit:


In the U.S.: www.fork.com

In the U.K.: www.compoundsecurity.co.uk

The ringtone originated in England, used to keep kids from loitering around stores because it's annoying. Now it's a ringtone that American kids download for use at school.

Have to give them credit for their ingenuity..

I give no adult credit for inventing stuff to teach and show our kids how to break rules.

I bet the teacher may not be able to clearly hear this sound, but with several going off all day in each class room, i bet teachers become affected and don't know why. Like migrains or nerviousness etc.

I took the test and am proud to say my middle aged ears can clearly hear the high pitched tone. Guess I didn't blow out my hearing by listening to loud music.