Buzz
Researchers have identified two main categories of disagreeable sounds: firstly, irritating noises such as persistent car alarms and snoring, which intrude on our concentration or rest. Secondly, sounds that provoke an instant, gut-level aversion, like the screech of nails on a chalkboard or the squeak of Styrofoam. The following list is ordered by the level of discomfort they cause, based on a continuous study conducted by Professor Trevor Cox from Salford University in the UK.
1. The Sound of Vomiting
Perhaps it was the added audio effects, like the splatter of canned baked beans hitting a bucket, that elevated the sounds of gagging and retching to the top of this list (some critics argue that it's not the noise itself but the mental imagery it conjures that repulses people). Personally, I find it impossible to be near someone who is vomiting without my own gag reflex being involuntarily activated.
(For those with nerves of steel, here’s the audio clip used in the experiment.)
2. The Screech of Microphone Feedback
Typically, this sound is physically jarring, so its high ranking on the list comes as no surprise.
3. The Sound of a Crying Baby
Interestingly, when Professor Cox analyzed the responses by demographic groups, it was the male participants who pushed the sound of a baby’s cry into the third position. This isn’t to suggest that women aren’t equally disturbed by the noise—they’re simply more accustomed to tolerating it due to maternal instincts.
4. The Screeching of a Train on Tracks
Even if you’re not in an area frequented by trains or subways, the harsh sound of metal grinding against metal—regardless of its source—is enough to make anyone cringe.
5. The Annoying Squeak of an Unlubricated Wheel
Whether it’s a playground seesaw, a creaky door hinge, or any other moving part desperately in need of oil, that persistent, grating squeak has annoyed enough people to secure the fifth spot on the list.
6. The Sound of a Violin Played Badly
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Sparks, one of my all-time favorite bands, had a memorable line in their song “Amateur Hour”: “It’s a lot like playing the violin, you cannot start off and be Yehudi Menuhin.” They were spot on—the harsh scraping of poorly played violin strings is enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.
7. The Sound of Flatulence
It’s surprising it took this long to revisit bodily sounds. While men were more bothered by a crying baby, women overwhelmingly found the noise of … digestive distress (as Archie Bunker famously termed it) to be particularly grating.
8. The Noise of People Arguing
Psychologists might attribute the high ranking of this sound to childhood experiences, particularly the memory of hiding in a closet with hands over ears while parents argued loudly.
9. The Hum of Electrical Mains
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That irritating low-frequency buzz you sometimes hear through speakers—known to audiophiles as occurring at 50Hz in the UK and 60Hz in the US.
10. The Sound of Someone Chewing with Their Mouth Open
Apples were frequently cited as the most irritating source of open-mouthed chewing noises, though I’m sure you can imagine even more unpleasant sounds emanating from a dining companion who unknowingly shares every bite of their meal audibly and visually. (For the record, I’ve since improved my popcorn-eating habits at the movies, thanks to my spouse’s thoughtful feedback.)
11. The Screech of Fingernails on a Chalkboard
With many schools now using whiteboards instead of chalkboards, this once-iconic example of an irritating sound has fallen lower on the list. (Perhaps it belongs in the Obsolete Sounds hall of fame?) Yet, those of us who recall the spine-chilling screech of nails accidentally dragged across a chalkboard in grade school still shudder at the thought.
These additional entries are sourced from other studies:
The Whine of a Dental Drill
Dr. Cox discovered that certain sounds elicited very different reactions depending on geography. In all South American countries surveyed, the piercing whine of a dentist’s drill topped the list as the most shudder-inducing noise. When asked about his personal aversion, Cox (based in Manchester, England) confessed that the dental drill also made him cringe.
The Scraping of a Knife on a Glass Bottle
In a 2012 study by Newcastle University, researchers focused on sounds within the 2,000 to 5,000 Hz range, known to be particularly grating. They tested various unpleasant noises, including chalk on a blackboard and a fork on glass, but MRI scans revealed that the sound of a knife scraping a bottle was the most unbearable.
The Squeal of Bicycle Brakes
Michael Oehler and Christoph Reuter from the University of Vienna added an interesting twist to their 2011 study. One group was told they were listening to a performance art piece, while the other was informed of the actual sources of the sounds. Both groups rated their discomfort on a scale of one to six, and those who believed they were hearing avant-garde music rated the sounds slightly less distressing. Squeaky bike brakes ranked high, alongside classics like nails on a chalkboard.
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What sound makes you recoil in discomfort or fills you with such revulsion that you can’t stand to listen? As a child, I could always send my mom fleeing in horror by dragging a piece of Styrofoam across cardboard.
Parts of this article were originally published in 2012.
