Hearing Age Test
High frequency hearing check
What is the Hearing Age Test?
The Hearing Age Test plays tones at progressively higher frequencies and asks you to indicate which ones you can hear. High-frequency hearing declines naturally with age — most people begin losing sensitivity above 16,000 Hz in their 20s. Your highest audible frequency maps to an estimated hearing age.
How to Use
- 1Use headphones for accurate results — speakers have poor high-frequency response
- 2Set your volume to a comfortable but not loud level
- 3Click "I can hear this" when a tone is audible, "I cannot hear this" when it is not
- 4Your estimated hearing age appears based on the highest frequency you detect
What is a Good Score?
Children can hear up to 20,000 Hz. By age 25, most people lose 18,000+ Hz. By 40, 16,000 Hz is often the upper limit. Still hearing tones above 16,000 Hz as an adult indicates excellent hearing preservation.
Tips to Improve
- →Always use headphones — earbuds or over-ear headphones both work better than speakers for this test
- →Protect your hearing at concerts and noisy environments — damage is permanent and cumulative
- →Test in a quiet room — background noise masks high-frequency tones and artificially lowers results
Frequently Asked Questions
What frequencies can the average person hear?
The human hearing range is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. However, the upper limit decreases with age. Most adults in their 30s can hear up to approximately 15,000–17,000 Hz.
Is this hearing test medically accurate?
This is a casual screening tool, not a clinical audiogram. It gives a general indication of high-frequency hearing ability. For medical diagnosis of hearing loss, consult an audiologist.