There’s A Sound That Apparently Only Teens Can Hear And You Might Be Too Old To Hear It

How exactly old are your ears?

As we age, certain areas of our body deteriorate, which includes our hearing.
30-35 percent of people aged 65 and above will experience some sort of hearing loss.
It affects the ability to hear high-pitched noises such as a phone ringing or beeping of a microwave.

Those who have watched or familiar with the show 30 Rock may have seen the subplot in which Jenna Maroney (played by Jane Krakowski) pretends to hear a sound that only young people can hear. Jenna’s character is a narcissist in her 40s who pretends to be younger than she actually is.

Now it turns out it wasn’t just an intereting fictional subplot after all. There really IS a sound that only the younger people can hear. And of course, you are now real curious to find out if that’s true.

A poll was conducted to test it. Make sure you have your headphones or your speakers turned on.

Listen to this first audio which most people can hear:

99 percent of the respondents heard the noise and you should too, unless you have hearing problems.

Now listen to this second audio which is difficult for anyone over 40 to hear:

This is 14,400 hertz and 91 percent of the respondents heard it. This frequency is difficult for anyone over 40 years old to hear and it’s also can be ear-shattering.

Next, listen to this third audio, the TEENS ONLY sound:

56 percent of the respondents heard this. This is the TEENS ONLY sound, at 17,400 hertz.

Lastly, listen to this fourth audio which is difficult to hear for ALL ages:

So what’s the explanation for all this? As we age, certain areas of our body deteriorate, which includes our hearing.

30-35 percent of people aged 65 and above will experience some sort of hearing loss and there is a medical term for it – presbycusis.

“Most often, it affects the ability to hear high-pitched noises such as a phone ringing or beeping of a microwave. The ability to hear low-pitched noises is usually not affected,” explains John Hopkins Medicine.

The changes within our inner and middle ears, as well as nerve pathways to our brain, is responsible to this hearing loss. There are other factors as well, such as genetics, medication side effects, and exposure to loud noises.

So how did you fare in this test?