Why Do We Hate The Sound Of Fingernails On A Chalkboard?

Listen to this:

Those were finger nails working their way across a chalkboard. Some of you might have felt a shiver. It’s one of those sounds that provokes a physical reaction. Scientists have looked into the why for years and this week, scientists presented another theory at the Acoustical Society of America meeting.


Oehler told All Things Considered’s Robert Siegel that could be explained because at that frequency sounds are amplified because of the shape of the ear; it’s called “open ear gain,” he said.


Those who thought they were listening to music, “perceived the sound to be less unpleasant,” said Oehler.

What Oehler said he couldn’t answer is whether there is an evolutionary reason for the reaction. He did say that “many important sounds of speech” are in that frequency and other sounds like a baby’s cry and the sound of a vacuum cleaner fall in that category, too.


We’ll post the as-aired version of the interview a little later tonight.
