How to take the hearing age test
- Use wired headphones if you can and sit somewhere quiet. Speakers and some Bluetooth connections can't play the highest tones, which would make you look "older" than you are.
- Set the volume low, press Start, and raise the volume only until the first tone at 8 kHz is clearly but comfortably audible. Don't touch the volume after that.
- Listen as the tone rises. Press "I can't hear it any more" as soon as it fades out. The test takes about 40 seconds.
- Repeat for each ear with the Left and Right buttons. A clear difference between ears is worth mentioning to a doctor.
What your result means
Hearing fades from the top down: the highest frequencies are usually the first to go, a process called presbycusis. According to the U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), about one in three people aged 65 to 74 has hearing loss. The age bands below are the typical values used by hearing age tests. They are a rough guide, not a clinical standard, and people vary a lot.
| Highest tone heard | Typical for |
|---|---|
| 19 kHz and above | under 20 |
| 17.4 kHz | under 25 |
| 16 kHz | under 30 |
| 15 kHz | under 40 |
| 12 kHz | under 50 |
| below 12 kHz | 50 or older – or a device that stops early |
Everyday speech sits mostly between about 250 Hz and 4 kHz, so losing hearing above 15 kHz rarely affects conversations. Losing it around 3–6 kHz is different: that range is typical of noise damage and makes consonants like "s" and "f" harder to catch.
Hearing frequency test: your full range
Run both sweeps and the page shows your hearing range on this device, for example "30 Hz – 15.6 kHz". Healthy young ears span roughly 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The low end is limited mostly by the speakers: phone and laptop speakers rarely go below 100–200 Hz, so do the low test with headphones. Very low tones are often felt more than heard.
Mosquito tone test
The mosquito tone is a 17.4 kHz sound used by anti-loitering devices because most teenagers hear it and most adults don't. If you can hear it clearly through decent headphones, your high-frequency hearing is in good shape. If you can't, check that your device plays it at all before blaming your ears: try another pair of headphones, or ask someone younger to listen.
Tinnitus frequency test
If you hear a constant ringing or hissing, pitch matching can describe it. Play the tone at a low volume, move the slider until the pitch feels like your tinnitus, then fine-tune with the 1% and 5% buttons. People often land one octave off, so also try half and double the frequency you found and keep whichever matches best. Many people match their tinnitus somewhere in the higher range, often between about 3 and 8 kHz. Your last match is remembered on this device.
A pitch match doesn't explain the cause. See a doctor promptly if tinnitus is new, only in one ear, beats in time with your pulse, or comes with sudden hearing loss; the NIDCD advises seeing a doctor right away for sudden hearing loss.
Want to check your headphones rather than your ears? Use the headphone test or the left right audio test. For a specific tone at any frequency, the tone generator goes from 1 Hz to 22 kHz.
How we tested this tool
We recorded the tool's output in a browser and measured it: the sweep frequency shown on screen matched the actual tone, the left and right buttons sent sound to one channel only, the mosquito button produced 17.4 kHz, and the age band changed at the listed thresholds. We did not test anyone's hearing, and the age bands are not our own research.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is an online hearing age test?
It is a rough, fun estimate. The result depends on your speakers or headphones, the volume and the room as much as on your ears, and the age bands are typical values, not a clinical standard. Only a hearing test by an audiologist measures your hearing properly.
Why can't I hear the mosquito tone?
Most adults over about 25 can't hear 17.4 kHz, which is why it was chosen for anti-loitering devices aimed at teenagers. Many phone and laptop speakers also can't play it, so try good wired headphones before drawing conclusions.
Can this test damage my hearing?
Not at sensible volumes. Start with the volume low and only raise it until the first tone is clearly but comfortably audible. Never turn the volume up to chase a tone you can't hear; stop if anything feels uncomfortable.
What does my tinnitus frequency tell me?
It describes the pitch you hear, which can be useful to share with a doctor or audiologist and to choose masking sounds. It doesn't diagnose the cause. New, one-sided or pulsing tinnitus, or tinnitus with sudden hearing loss, should be checked by a doctor.
Should I use headphones or speakers?
Wired headphones give the most reliable result and let you test each ear separately. Laptop and phone speakers often can't reproduce very high or very low tones, and some Bluetooth connections cut the highest frequencies.