A listening challenge has gone viral on social media and it’s making some people cover their ears in pain – while others are wondering what the fuss is about.
The mosquito tone challenge involves playing a high-pitched sound at a high volume and asking people if they can hear it.
The sound used in the challenge is at a frequency that generally only people under the age of 25 can hear.
There’s a few videos of the challenge doing the rounds, but this one from users maystoo_88 is by far the most popular, with more than 77 million views and 8 million likes on TikTok.
So get your ears ready and play this video – can you hear the high-pitched sound?
@maystoo_88 @carmenelisabeeth #fyp #imold ♬ Under age of 25 – Metzie
Were you like the 17 year old covering hear ears because she could hear the sound, or were you like the 32 year old who is blissfully unaware of any noise at all?
The sound is often referred to as a “mosquito” tone because it is similar in pitch to the high-pitched buzzing that mosquitoes make. And we all know how annoying that is.
Adults stop hearing high-pitched frequencies after we turn 25 and our hearing gets progressively worse as we age. Hence why most adults can’t hear the sound in the TikTok video above.
But if you can’t hear this mosquito tone in the challenge video, be thankful – the sound is really annoying.
So annoying, in fact, that apparently some businesses blast it from their front doors to stop teens hanging around and causing trouble!
PS. Did you know that the Beatles include a whistling sound at the end of their song Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that only their dog fans could hear? Woof to that!