SvenOnTech recieved an interesting e-mail the other day. In it, it claimed there was a new ringtone (custom ringers for your cell phone) that could only be heard by teenagers and children. The ringtone called the “Mozzy Tone” or Mosquito Ringtone plays its “music” at 17-kilohertz. Merck Manual of Daignosis and Therapy states that starting at the age of 20, adults begin to lose their hearing. The first frequency that our ears begin to drop from our hearing capacity is 18 to 20 KHz. Those 65 and older are sure bets not to be able to hear this range.

Banking on this little known fact, Opera Telecom is pushing this toward kids. Gary Corbett, CEO of Opera Telecom, told SvenOnTech, “Kids will love ‘Mozzy Tones’ because only they are meant to hear it. Some adults will literally have to put the phone right up to their ear in order to make out the sound of a mosquito, and if they stand a few feet away they won’t be able to hear anything at all.”

The irony of this ringtone is that it was first used as a deterrent sound. Compound Security invented the mosquito sound as a security measure. Simon Morris, Marketing Director for Compound Security, elaborated saying, “The high-frequency buzzer device that we originally developed was actually designed to irritate youngsters and deter them from hanging around outside shops.” Now Compound Sound has teamed up with Opera Telecom so the kiddies can have it on their cells. Go figure.

Annoyed or not, teens like the ringtone because only they can hear their phone ring and adults never know if a call is coming in or not. If you’re one such teen, then you can purchase your own version for your phone at www.mozzytones.com. Of course, if you don’t want adults knowing that your phone is ringing, you can always just turn on vibrate as it is a free option. But then again, children will be children.

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