A proper hearing test can help determine any hearing loss you may have by measuring your ability to differentiate and respond to a series of tones in a controlled sound environment. Take our new and still unscientific hearing test.
Try using a good pair of headphones in a silent room. The MP3 sound files have been replaced with WAV files for greater frequency reproduction. Also, the tones now range from 20hz to 20kHz. Post comments about your results or vote to record and view hearing loss test results. Depending on your headphones/speakers, you may hear a click. Ignore the click, you should be listening for the actual tone.
20hz 30hz 40hz 50hz 60hz 100hz 200hz |
500hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 5 kHz 8 kHz 10 kHz 12 kHz |
15 kHz 16 kHz 17 kHz 18 kHz 19 kHz 20 kHz |
If your computer cannot play the WAV sound files above, you should try the MP3 version of the hearing test
As many people were so kind to point out: the online hearing tests is not meant to be diagnostic or completely accurate. Your computer speakers, volume, and environment can make a difference. Please take an audiometric test provided by a certified audiologists if you are concerned about any hearing problems.
33 yr and can hear up to 20kHz, but had to increase the volume after 17kHZ in order to hear the tones. I wonder how much is hearing loss and how much poor speakers, so I want to try again using better headphones.
I’m 58 1/2 and I can hear from 20hz to 10kHz. I was an USAF aircraft mechanic in my 20-35 I guess tgat didn’t help me any…
31 – can hear up to 17 fine but nothing at all going up.
I heard them all. Although a bit difficult to hear 20 KHz in my right ear. I’am 17 Years old. One weird thing, I started to test different sound frequencies of sine waves like these in Audacity. Apparently, I can hear 21KHz. That’s Impossible. O.o
I’m 22 and Yeah I can just barely hear 21KHz, its not really even noticable though. 19KHz is clear as day though. I’ve always been mindful of protecting my ears I suppose. I used my Zoom H1 set to 96KHz/24bit and recorded 12KHz to 24KHz tones and played them back in audacity, pretty cool to see the spectrogram. I notice when music or audio does or does not use high frequency sound, higher frequencies are more directional so with my surround sound set up its pretty interesting to hear the various frequencies, that said I certainly don’t need high sample rate music.
24 years old
I‘ve heard from 20 to 16k with 20%volume
18k with 40%,19k with 60% and 20k with 100%(Edifier H180,supports up to 20kHZ)
I’m sure it’s not noise
My mom is 58 years old,she can hear up to 8k with 40% volume,and 12k with 100% volume
I‘m very good at hearing music or sounds from animals and many insects at a very low volume(1/10 of people’s daily talk)
but I’m bad at hear word,especially Chinese charactors(I‘m a Chinese)
I can hear Japanese so clear,but Chinese and English is difficult for me
Does this because I watch Japan animation far more often than talk to real people around me?
I tested myself using my own generated waveforms using Adobe Audition since these clips have a ‘pop’ at the beginning and end, and for some of the upper tones, turning it up helps to hear it properly – which then increases the pop sound.
Whether through midrange monitors (KRK VXT6) or decent headphones (Beyer DT880’s) both running on a Steinberg UR44 @ 24bit/192kHz – I can hear up to about 18kHz. I’m 32.
For those that can hear above 18kHz, do you actually hear it, or more feel it?
In my headphones it seems like I can hear above 18k, but it could be distortion as I have to turn it fairly loud to pick up some of those frequencies.
I’m sure I’ve blasted my ears quite a bit over the years, at concerts, clubs, and with music – both listening and playing. But I’ve tried to be at least a bit careful! I find it painful if it’s too loud, especially in the midrange.
I’m a musician and sound hobbyist, so I care about my hearing. I do bring earplugs to concerts now – usually the Etymotic ones as they work a bit better than foam. I don’t always wear them, but it can help. Otherwise it is painful at times – not a good sign.
Keep your hearing as long as you can!! You only have one set of ears.
Wow I heard all of these sounds, but the ones starting from 18kHz were quiet..
But I checked my hearing previously on pitchperfect software, I couldn’t hear above 17 kHZ
I’m 18, male
5khz even with dac\amp and audeze lcd’s. But I already knew I suffer from hearing loss. I’m 27
2.5 years ago i was able hear up 17khz, now i can hear until 16 khz(Same test) 🙁 Im 19 years old now
I am 14 and I could hear all of these and I wear headphones and I have been wearing headphones to hear my I pad and computer for about 5 years now.
Headphones: AKG K701
Yes, these are decent headphones.
On my PC speakers I couldn’t hear extreme frequencies without excessive volume.
On the headphones I could. 20hz was a faint hum, and 20,000hz quite literally almost made my ears pop, it was almost painful.
I’m fourteen and i can hear 100hz to 16khz. lol. probably cause im hard-of-hearing. haha
I can’t believe this, I can hear 200htz. What does that mean?
I’m 14, have been tested, and can hear up to 25 kHz….. I don’t think that it’s normal
for 14 that is understandable
I’m 17 and can hear up to 18khz (very, very little of 19) in my right ear, and up to 12 in my left. I got hit hard in my left ear with a basketball 2 weeks ago, and my high frequency hearing in that ear hasn’t improved since. I don’t expect it to raise above 14 ever again 🙁
24. I can hear up to 12k and barely hear 15. Using headphones and a phone which should be legitimate.
I have gotten some sound wave blows to my ears when talking to people in loud venues as well as beeping after loud clubs. Possibly proof that not protecting the ears does fangs quite quickly. Oh and have gone a couple concerts that just were way too loud. (Some even though they were famous bands).
Cheers
oh shi.. from 20hz to 20khz lol
Ha thanks my beyerdynamic 770 pro and creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD. I can hear from 20hz to 20 hz . Am I normal ?
I can hear normally at 30 to 15. If I boost the volume like twice, I can clearly listen to 20 hz. I can also listen to 16 and 17, abeit faintly (like mixed with noise). At 18, I can detect the sound faintly and far away….very high putched. Would never notice in real life. At 19 or 20, I cannot hear anything at all. Yes, I can listen to the background noise or hiss. Totally clear, but I know that’s not what I am looking for. I am 37 and hear a constant hiss….
This 67 year old can hear 200hz to 8khz. Never use ear buds, headphones etc. Huh? What’d you say?
I you want to expand this further, open up an audio editor, such as Audition or Audacity and “normalize” to 0 dB. Then grab a dB meter and turn the volume all the way down. Now play the files looping and slowly up the volume until you can hear it. Now you have an accurate test that shows what dB you can hear in each tone.
Now, if you are good with math, you can use this data to calculate what percentage of hearing loss (if any) you suffer from by assuming 6 dB (a dull roar) is 0% and 100 dB (enough loud to cause severe, irreversible hearing loss) as 100%.
Next, open up your favorite song into the audio editor. Normalize to -3 dB and open a 20 band or parametric EQ. Using the data you collected from the sound tests and the calculations, raise each frequency by .1 decibels for ever percentage point you calculated. If you heard below 6 dB on the meter, lower that frequency by .5 dB per decibel below 6 scored. Apply the changes and hear you favorite song, more or less, the way that the audio engineer intended. If it makes a great improvement to the quality according to your ears, apply this adjustment to all your music or plug these settings more or less to all the EQs you have available to you (car, stereo, iTunes, mp3 player, tv, etc.). Enjoy hearing like everyone else, and if you really want to hear everything in life this clearly, present the data you collected in full to an audiologist and they can hook you up with hearing aids to apply this eq setting to real life and everything you hear.
I’m 55 and a long time listener to percussion instruments and load music. I can’t hear above 12.
Humm…
I heard everything but the two last sounds.
So what? Do I have any problem??
🙁
I can hear all of them ever 20 kHz really quite clearly. But my senses are all hightend i could probably hear up to 25 khz or higher.
61 years old. Listen to music all my life.Still do. I used recording quality headphones in my 20’s (too loud probably)–DO NOT DO IT.
I can not hear any tones above 5khz. I am serious—please everyone, Turn down. (Note I used to hear to 16khz at 45 years old)
With this one I could hear through 18khz. the old one i could only get to 12 khz
i heard everything but 20 khz
im 18 and i can hear clearly from 20hz to 20kh.i listen to music all the time.but at a very low volume.and i try to limit the use of head phones
I’m 68 years old and I cant hear any of them. Are all of these sounds higher in pitch than the A three octaves above middle C ? I’ve found in other situations that is the highest sound I can hear.
I lost my upper hearing at 59 due to chemotherapy. See cisplatin and hearing loss via google to understand)
At 2khz my hearing starts to tank at 3khz and is gone at 5khz.
I cannot understand TV at any normal volume, and each person has to speak to my face, not the floor etc. I never understood women, now I can’t hear them either. (Now I have a maybe excuse). This has been lifechanging. Hearing aids make almost everything worse. The range they try and boost is where tires and road noise reside. Along with every fan in the ceiling of every store. No more talking in the car.
I’ve been a musician all my life, playing in loud rock bands, jazz combos, solo gigs and folk ensembles, I’ve also been a sound engineer and a recording engineer. I’m 61 and can hear up to and including 16k, although the last one is very quiet. When I was young, about 23, a recording engineer tested my hearing using test tones and could hear up to 22khz. I’m very pleased I can still hear so well considering the battering my hearing has taken over the years! Also people with experience know what to listen for which makes life easier, you say to Joe Public, ‘listen to that 2khz peak’, and they won’t know where to direct their attention, but a musician or sound engineer will usually be able to filter the sound so as to hear the undesirable frequency.
I am 28 and can hear from 200hz to 12khz. I was diagnosed yesterday with genetic nerve damage in both ears causeing hearing loss. I have never liked listening to loud music and I only use headphones when im talking on the phone, because it is hard for me to hear the other person without them. I do not exactly how accurate this text was to my test yesterday, but it does reflect my hearing loss.
Some people are just thick I guess. Some say they can (for eg) hear 20 but not 18. Well they are just hearing a fault which is much lower than 20k. They hear ‘something’ and go ‘Wow, I can hear it!’ Not so….
Hi
Good little test for what it is. I did notice a background hiss persists to play after the sound file stops for about 20 secs- worth letting this stop before playing the last three tones or so.
I can hear up to 19 kHz and down to 20 Hz. But 16 kHz is noticeably lower then 17-19 kHz. Is this normal? Also some of them are playing only out of one side of the headphone. Is it just my set up? Though I use a pretty high end sound card and headphones =/.
i can hear all of them but then again I am 15. I’m gonna use this on my friends and see where theirs is at and does and one know what the average hearing levels are. Ex. if your over 25 you shouldn’t be able to hear –kHz.
I can hear from 20Hz to 20KHz… easily. I’m 17.
I’m 20 and can hear 20hz to 20khz perfectly, and I’ve been to many concerts right at the speaker and headphones blasting, obviously not on a daily basis but I do like my music loud.
im 18, i can hear from 20hz to 19khz
PLEASE READ! I NEED YOUR HELP! Hello. Im doing a science project for my school, and i have a request for everyone. My project is “can wearing headphones dammage your ears over the years” what i need is for everyone who comments please put your age, then if you listen to music with or without headphone, and what was the highest you could hear. I also dont understand what kHz means, and if someone can please tell me, i would very much appreciate it. im 16, and i listen to alot of music. i could hear 17, but i wouldnt have noticed it if i knew i was taking a test. If the person who posted this test please tell me more information about the effects of hearing loss caused by headphones, please notify me, thankyou to thouse who read and posted.
25, with headphones, and highest I could hear was 19. Also, khz means kilo-hertz and hz means hertz, i.e. frequency of the sound i.e. vibrations per second (i think). sound is just a vibration of the air, and the more vibrations per second the higher the pitch of the sound. 20 khz means 20000 vibrations per second, so higher pitch. 20 hz means 20 vibrations per second, so lower pitch. hope that helps!
I am 31 years old and the highest tones that can I hear is 18 kHz. Is this a problem?
I think an online test like this can not be used as a measure, because it depends on the condition computers that we use.
Do I need to go to the audiologist? I often hear a buzzing in my ear. Thank you…
Just to be aware – when people say human hearing spends 20hz to 20khz, that’s just a convenient estimation. Good hearing is 28hz to 16khz. Great hearing is 25hz to 18khz. Exceptional hearing is anything lower than 25hz to 19khz. 20khz is the pitch of your average dog whistle. Maybe young children can hear this pitch – but I would be very surprised to meet an adult who can hear 20khz. I’ve seen online tests where people claim to hear 22khz. This is probably due to mechanical noise, rather than the actual test.
In my early 20ties I was working in the Air Force, and because of severe allergies I was subjected to extensive testing in a hospital.
Including testing of my hearing!
I was positively tested and measured to be able to hear 23 Khz tones in both ears.
Now this is 30 years ago, I have not been tested like that since, and I do expect my hearing to have been degraded some.
But I can still hear an old TV set being turned on in an adjacent room!
The lower frequencies I can not remember, just that I had a general hearing sensitivity that made some problems even inside a sound isolated room.
I could hear noises from outside, and we had to wait for some machinery to be turned off.
On a different computer I can only hear from 20 hz to 16 khz.
Doesn’t seem to be right. I’m 47 but I can hear everything.
me too
This page is utter bs. The first tone caused an acoustic shock to me at 5% volume. Got a headache because of that. This will cause hearing damage so screw you trying to advertise products by damaging peoples hearing and making it worse!!! I can’t believe you didn’t even put up a warning for people to test the last one’s first at lowest volume and turn it up and down slowly with each test. Most people wont hear the higher frequencies due to limitations of hardware. I came back an hour later and heard the 22k at 5% volume where as I needed 10% to hear 21k (shouldn’t it be the other way around?). My equipment is supportive up to 38kHz with 33kHz being the lowest which are my headphones. So I assume this thing is completely rigged to screw up people’s hearing. I usually listen to music at 35% for uncompressed audio and the first sound at 5% is louder than an angle grinder which disturbs me even at 400m away with large traffic in between. I say my hearing is already good and got worse due to the 8kHz. Not buying your junk.
maybe if you had a clue to what your actually talking about, umm test tones ??? yes turn down before using!!! and you give figures of 5% and 35% for ref levels is this your windows volume??? lol the way I see it you asked for it!
At first I was nervous because I couldn’t hear anything past 16, but I turned up my speakers and things got much better. I could hear up to and including 19 Khz without any real difficulty. As in, if the sound was in the room, I would detect it without being directed to it. I could hear up to and including 22 khz, but certainly wouldn’t likely notice it if I didn’t know the sound was there.
Oh, and I’m 40 and have spent a good number of years listening to loud music.
Sounds played back not through computer speakers, but through Yorkville YSM-1 studio monitors.
keep in mind that many pc setups will alias really badly on the higher frequency tones. if you can’t hear 16khz but you can hear 20khz (probably as a weird buzz as opposed to a supersonic tone), there’s something wrong with your monitoring setup.