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Yeah, I can relate to people saying they nearly got PTSD, I sure did get it. Paging apps use seriously offensive alarm sounds. I hated every sound they had in the options. It made me instantly sick. Fuck that!

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The (in)offensiveness of the sound has little to do with it. For quite a few years after I left my job as an SRE at google, this gentle little tune called "morning flower"[1] which I used as my pager alarm sound would give me a little jolt of adrenaline. Even now, it's a bit startling, but it's old enough now that at least I do not hear it in the wild anymore.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hr8lhO3k5o

The right answer is, in my experience, something that starts soft and intermittent, and then gradually ramps up in loudness and annoyance. In bed, it's enough to have a harpsichord gently playing, but if I'm watching TV or out at a restaurant I might need it to eventually escalate to a klaxon to get my attention.

My first experience with this was Groovy Blue: https://youtu.be/WCbyp_UuyoM?si=s0ZpfcXZKw7dP17i

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