Do bear bells really work? Please share your personal experiences

I’ve been mountain climbing for over 10 years, but I’ve always been skeptical about the effectiveness of bear bells.

In 2017 there was an incident in Akita where a woman wearing two bells was attacked and killed. Along streams the sound of bells can be drowned out by water, and I’ve also heard that in areas where bears are used to people they ignore bells.

I’d like to hear your real experiences:

• Have you ever scared a bear away with a bear bell?
• Have you ever encountered a bear even though you were wearing a bell?
• What measures do you practice besides using a bell?

Akita seems to have the highest number of sightings, but it’s also the region where the bell culture is strongest. How should we think about this?