Hearing Age Test
High frequency hearing check
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
The Frequency Ladder by Decade
High-frequency hearing loss follows a predictable staircase. The tiny hair cells that detect treble sit at the entrance of the cochlea where every sound wave hits them first, so they wear out before anything else:
| Age | Typical Upper Limit |
|---|---|
| Under 18 | 17,000-19,000+ Hz |
| 20s | 16,000-18,000 Hz |
| 30s | 15,000-17,000 Hz |
| 40s | 14,000-16,000 Hz |
| 50s | 12,000-14,000 Hz |
| 60+ | Often below 12,000 Hz |
Full breakdowns live in our guides to normal hearing range by age and hearing frequency by age.
The Mosquito Tone Story
The age gap in hearing became famous through the "mosquito tone," a 17.4 kHz sound originally deployed outside UK shops to disperse loitering teenagers, since adults could not hear it at all. Teenagers flipped the idea and turned the same frequency into ringtones that teachers in their 30s and 40s could not detect in class.
That story is this test in real life. If you can still catch tones above 16 kHz as an adult, your high-frequency hair cells are in great shape. Protect them: they do not grow back, and loud headphone sessions are the most common way younger people burn through them early.
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.
What frequency can most adults hear?
Healthy young adults can hear up to 20,000 Hz. By age 25 most people lose the ability to hear above 18,000 Hz. By 50 most cannot hear above 14,000 Hz. This test plays frequencies from high to low to find your personal limit.
Headphones on, volume moderate, room quiet. Find the exact frequency where your hearing stops.
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