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3. Fingernails on a blackboard
This is a grinding sound in the frequency range associated with sharp noises. However, sharpness alone is not what makes this sound excruciating. It’s also very rough. The effect of nails on a blackboard is very difficult to reproduce with a recording, so although many lab studies using recorded sounds find this sound to be less annoying than others, it’s often reported to be individuals’ number one hated noise.