We got a lot of positive feedback on our Can You Hear Like a Teenager? article, and it inspired us to take it just a little bit further.
Check your hearing with a list of tones that go from 8Hz all the way up to 22,000Hz. It’s fairly common for people who are over 25 years of age to not be able to hear above 15kHz and also experience some level of hearing loss or hearing damage such as tinnitus. This online test will help you find out where your high frequency hearing cuts off.
Musicians have a much higher risk of hearing loss that most people do, and many of us don’t really wear proper hearing protection. Even just listening to an iPod for an extended period of time can permanently damage your hearing. We also gradually lose our high-frequency hearing as we age.
Take our online hearing test: listen to each of these tones and let us know where your hearing cuts out. Make sure to turn the volume down on your headphones or speakers and gradually turn them up to a safe level.
8 kHz
10 kHz 12 kHz 14 kHz 15 kHz 16 kHz |
17 kHz
18 kHz 19 kHz 20 kHz 21 kHz 22 kHz |
Importance of Hearing Protection
If you’re around loud music a lot like I am, or if you are experiencing some hearing loss, I highly recommend getting a pair of hearing protection earplugs.
The Etymotic earlplugs don’t muffle the sound like conventional earplugs – they basically give you the same frequency response as without, but with a bit lower volume. If I wear them out to a club, they also help me carry on a conversation without yelling. Etymotic earbuds are also great in that they isolate your ear so you don’t have to turn up the volume as much on your MP3 player (ambient noise is one of the biggest reasons we turn up the volume). I love mine.
Thank god.. I was listening “the wrong way” if you know what I mean.. I’m 19 years old and I couldn’t hear anything above the 15khz.. but then I heard the 22khz and I can hear them all now 🙂
nice test!
I’m 2 months shy of thirty and I can hear up to 18kHz
I’m almost 23 and I can year 20 kHz
24 years old. Can hear them all pretty well, though the last one is a little bit low.
I am 20 and I can hear them all except the last one (22)
25 years old
the last one i can hear is 14
I’m thirteen, but I can only hear up to 20kHz. Then again, I’ve got rather old speakers, so it’s probably just that combined with background noise.
Not to mention that I’m a musician. I do hope I’m not losing my hearing at this age.
You aren’t losing your hearing! The normal range of human hearing cuts out at 20kHZ and it diminishes as you age. I rather doubt those on here claiming they can hear 22kHZ.
I’m 25 and can only hear upto 10kHz and nothing else
Kenny 19, 17KHz. Brandi 18, 18KHz. I,m an inventor and expose us both to many frequencies and enjoy loud music 4 feet behind my head… Some how I have never failed a hearing test… I presume my lousy computer speakers cant produce the frequencies. Oh well lol.
i think a lot of the people on here are either mistaken or they want to believe they have above average hearing— my speakers are pretty decent computer speakers (they cost $100 in ’05) and they can’t play any higher than 18kHZ— after that they still play a tone, but it isn’t any higher than 18kHZ, it’s like a lower tone. i have $400 polk audio speakers in my living room, and those only play to 20 kHz, and sound cards also affect the outcome. either way i seriously doubt everyone on here can really hear that high with their setup. and a compact disc and DVDs are not able to even contain tones above 22,500 kHz… i think there’s a lot of wishful thinking going on here.
I am 17 years old and I hear up to 21kHz. But my headphones make big background noise all the time. I got some doubts about my hearing but now I think I am ok. 🙂
I can hear 19 khz at age 30 (although just as with the previous comment, it should be noted that I’m using noise-cancelling headphones).
im 21 and i can hear up to 20 khz
I am 18 and would like to point out that the results of this test may be affected by the quality of the speakers being used to listen to these frequencies. With my laptop speakers I can hear up to 18, but with panasonic headphones I can only hear up to 17. With some external logitech speakers I could just barely hear 19. It is possible that the speakers just don’t have the capability to play frequencies that high or the sound is distorted by the quality of speakers, or perhaps it could be the the constant ipod playing on my part.
21 Male, musician, can hear up to 18
I am 27 yrs & i can hear only 15 kHz… i am worried … am i going through some hearing disorder .. do reply me !!
14 Male Play the drums can hear up to 18khz
21 and can hear 22kHz. I’m surprised because I am a musician and exposed to loud music all the time. Also the 22kHz somehow sounded louder than the 20 or 18, but not 19. It seems plausible that certain frequencies could degenerate separately, so the test should not be which is the highest audible, but how well can you hear each separately of each other. So this test, I suppose, would tell me that my 18 and 20kHz hearing may have degenerated.
I just tried this test as I constantly have ringing in my ears. I can hear everything except for the 20kHz, but I’m at work with a slew of servers running in the background and the headphones aren’t Bose noise cancelling. I’ll retest at home and see what happens there. Thanks for the frequency samples!
20 year old male cant hear higher than 15…
I´m 14 (female) and I can hear everything..
I’m 60…I was a touring stage manager for 13 years…my hearing drops off at 6khz…but i’d do it all over again in a new york second..lol..i just turn my JBL 4301’s up a little louder.
Female, 16 and I can hear everything onm my expensive headphones. On my computer speakers I can only hear through 17. Nothing 18 and up. I love my good headphones! They make me feel much better! lol
I’m 15 and i can hear 18k on my speakers … 14k only on my headsets … 😀
male 19 cant hear past 17
I’m 19 and can only BARELY hear the 14k.. this really scares me. And also makes me wonder.. am I missing out on parts of my favorite songs that others can hear while I cant?
there may be a typo in first line of article “Here is a list of tones that go from 8Hz”. It should read 8,000Hz
Male, 24. 18 kHz sounds much lower in volume and 19 is really faint. Nothing from 20.
im 16 and it stops at 17 kHz Im a saxophone player and im either in from of the drumline, marching baritones, trumpets or trombones so cut me some slack lol
i dont get it I can hear absolutely all of them, except 20khz. and when i say all i mean i didnt stop at 20 i went to the following two and could hear them just fine
I can head all of them loud and clear except for 16khz! I can hear everything above and below it, including 22khz, but not 16! Is that weird??
im 15, female, and can hear no higher than 18kHz
my mom, 46, until 16kHz
and my daddy, 53, until 12kHz
I’m 13,I listen to music every night and now I can only reach 18 😐
18 male, can hear something recognizable as sound up to 16. 17 and on are more like a distinct pressure (can tell if it’s on, can tell if it moves up or down, but not really a pitch). Play piano, violin, didgeridoo, but don’t listen to very loud music.
10, could here 22khz
At 50, I can still hear the 21kHz with your basic Apple ear buds. The computer speakers must not go that high, because I could only hear up to 12 with the speakers.
You must remember: You hear what your speaker or headphone/earphone produces. You can’t hear if it isn’t there. I can hear them all on my IEM whereas I can only hear up to 16 kHz on my speaker.
i can only hear up to 17, past that is to high. but its weird because i can feel it in a way, or maybe I’m crazy i don’t know
ditto, although 16kHz sounded fainter than 17kHz to me. Maybe I’m just hearing harmonics. I tried this with a digital DTS 5.1 system and noise canceling headphones to cut down on the room noise. No real difference, so I guess it’s my ears. FWIW, I always wear 30dB FOAM earplugs when I am around loud noises. I carry a pair in my pocket at all times, just in case. There was a study recently that indicates that listening to loud music is not actually as harmful as previously thought. Still, PROTECT YOUR HEARING! You only get two ears. You’ll miss your hearing and sight when it goes. 😉
I’m 22 and I can only hear up to 14kHz. I played in metal bands through High School, and now I’m a professional musician. I started using earplugs too late and my hearing is worse for the wear.
MUSICIANS: Wear your d@mn earplugs!
15 and i can hear up to 21. 21 and 20 are pretty quiet, 21 i can barely hear.
27, been dj’ing and playing electric guitar LOUD for about 15 years and I can hear them all.
I’m a 19 YO male and I can’t hear 17kHz, 16kHz is faint too so I assume that my cut-off point is something like 16.2kHz.
I do listen to music quite loud when I use my ipod, but I avoid clubs and don’t go to that many gigs (not as many as I’d like anyway)
Think I will be getting some of those earplugs for when I’m playing music.
im 15 and i heard up to 18..
I’m 20 and I can only hear up to 15Khz….fuuuuuuuuuu
Turning 20 in a month, can hear 18kHz.
My dogs on the other hand..
Wow. Everyone else seems to be better than me. I’m 16, I can’t hear anything past 12kHz. I don’t know what is wrong with me, I think it may be allergies. I have been treated for my problems up in my sinuses by taking Nazonex, which really helped, and I feel like I’m clearer, but apparently I’ve just been almost deaf all along. I can’t wait to see what I’ll be like as an old man. :S
I am 14 years old and can hear up to 20kHz
OMG I’m in trouble
It’s also worth mentioning that not all speakers can produce this range of sound. So if you don’t hear any sound on the higher frequencies like 16K and higher, try a different speaker or headphone set.
I’m 20 and can hear no higher than 18KHz.
41,can hear up to 16kHz using cheapo earbuds. Nothing from 17 onwards. Might be interesting to see whether I do better with a good headset.
49 female can hear up to 15. Nothing after that.
i am 35, and i can here them all. the 22kHt is much lower in volume than the rest, but i can hear it.
Yeah, I can just barely hear 22khz, but I can hear it. I’m 26, and I hope to keep my hearing as sharp as it’s always been…I try not do do anything too damaging, but I do enjoy concerts and loud music…at least I don’t work around jet engines.
Age:17
You beat me! I can hear 17 KHz faintly and barely 18 KHz!
Oh well
You can go on youtube and search up” Sound Therapy”
Or “Frequency Test”
im 17 and i can only hear up to 17 kHz (barely) but im in Drumline and Two Bands… i am a huge music fanatic… listen my music loud… this really scares me.. makes me think. im gonna start taking better care of my hearing. :] thanks for this article
this might sound a little creeper-ish but you like the perfect girl lmao…cuz everything you said was me lol
Yep, you’re right. That DOES seem creeper-ish. It’s the internet, it was one comment about herself. You read waaaaaaay too deeply into that. Sheesh!
It does not need to be that your ears are bad or anything, It might just be the computer that you are sitting in front of does not have the capability to play sounds of any higher frequency.
It might be possible to set your system to operate at higher frequencies, like if you set it to 48kHz it means that you should be able to play sounds up to 24kHz.
I have seen a wicked device that had 768kHz samplingrate, it’s aimed at detecting bats 🙂