Laurel or Yanny explanation: This is the reason you might hear one and not the other as frenzy sweeps internet

The internet has been thrown into a frenzy over an audio clip which has proved as divisive as the blue and black/white and gold dress of 2015.

The clip has left some people convinced they are hearing the word “yanny”, while others are adamant the word they hear is “laurel”.

Social media has been awash with baffled listeners who hear one or the other and the argument has split people down the middle.

A number of schools of thought have emerged to explain the discrepancy.

Each sound has a similar timing and energy content. It is thought the reason why different people hear a different sound can be explained by frequency.

As Lars Riecke, assistant professor of audition and cognitive neuroscience at Maastricht University, explained to The Verge: "If you remove all the low frequencies, you hear yanny. If you remove the high frequencies, you hear laurel.

"If your... ears emphasise both the higher and lower frequencies, you can toggle between the two sounds."

Because the sound is ambiguous, and the words yanny and laurel are said with similar intonation, the mechanics of your ear decide which one you are predisposed to hear.

Younger people, who are generally better at hearing higher sounds, are therefore more likely to hear yanny, while older people are likely to hear laurel.

It also could be dependent on volume or the type of speakers or headphones that people are using to listen to the sound.

Headphones that are more tinny will result in yanny standing out more. Meanwhile increased volume appears to make it easier to hear laurel.

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