Hearing Age Test: How Old Are Your Ears?

How the hearing age test works

This page recreates our YouTube Short How old are your ears? and takes it further. The Short stopped at 15 kHz, because compressed video audio can lose the very highest frequencies. Here your browser makes every tone itself with the Web Audio API, so the ladder can climb all the way to 20 kHz.

• Pure tones at one level. Each tone is a sine wave from an OscillatorNode, played for 2.5 seconds at the same fixed level, about 24 dB below digital full scale. A 0.1 second fade at each end keeps it from clicking.
• Volume first. A 1 kHz tone at that same level comes first, so you can set your volume to quiet but clear. That one setting is used for the whole test.
• Eleven levels. 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 17.4, 18, 19 and 20 kHz. You can replay each tone. The first one you can’t hear ends the test, and your result is the last one you heard.
• One silent check. Once per run, a level between 12 and 17 kHz is first shown with no sound at all. Whatever you answer, the real tone follows, so the check never costs you a level.
• Device limits. Digital audio can only carry tones below half its sample rate, so the test skips any level within 1 kHz of that limit for your output (MDN). At the usual 44.1 or 48 kHz, nothing is skipped.

The age bands

The bands are fun approximations that carry on from the Short’s ladder, where 15 kHz meant under 30. They are not norms: hearing at these pitches varies a lot between people of the same age, and your result also depends on your headphones and volume.

If you don’t hear even the 8 kHz tone, there is no band. Check your volume and output device first.

Why high tones fade with age

Hearing loss that comes with age has a medical name: presbycusis. The US National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) describes it as loss that develops slowly as we age, usually in both ears. Because it is gradual, people often don’t notice it. NIDCD puts it at about one in three people in the US aged 65 to 74, and says nearly half of those older than 75 have difficulty hearing (NIDCD).

Changes in the inner ear are a common cause, and long-term noise exposure and some medical conditions can add to it. Hearing relies on tiny hair cells in the inner ear. When they are damaged or die they don’t grow back, so that kind of hearing loss is permanent (MedlinePlus). One of the signs MedlinePlus lists is more difficulty understanding people with higher-pitched voices.

The highest pitches tend to go first. ISO 7029:2017, the international standard for typical hearing thresholds by age and gender in otologically normal people aged 18 to 80, shows the change with age growing toward the high end of the range it covers, 125 Hz to 8 kHz, with informative medians up to 12.5 kHz. No standard covers the 13 to 20 kHz tones in this test, which is one more reason to read the bands as rough fun.

The same effect is behind the “mosquito tone”. The Mosquito, a device invented in 2005 to discourage loitering, uses a tone of about 17.4 kHz because it can generally be heard only by young people, and the sound later spread as a ringtone teachers couldn’t hear (Wikipedia).

Why your device matters

• Speakers and headphones. Small phone and laptop speakers, and some earbuds, play very high tones weakly or not at all. If the tones vanish near the top, try wired headphones or another pair before blaming your ears.
• Bluetooth. Wireless audio is compressed, and compression can cut the highest frequencies. Many headsets also drop to a low-quality mode while their microphone is in use.
• Sample rate. If your output runs at a low rate, the result screen tells you which levels were skipped and where the device’s limit was.
• No calibration. A clinic hearing test measures how quiet a tone can get before you stop hearing it, with calibrated equipment. A web page can’t know how loud your device actually plays, so it can only tell you which of its tones you heard at the volume you chose.

Listening safely

• Turn the volume down before you start, then set it with the 1 kHz tone so it is quiet but clear.
• Never turn the volume up to chase a high tone. Every tone plays at the same level, so silence is the answer, not a reason to go louder.
• Stop if anything feels uncomfortable, or if you notice ringing in your ears.
• Loud sound is the hearing risk you can control. NIDCD notes that long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss (NIDCD), and WHO says over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss from unsafe listening (WHO). Its Make Listening Safe initiative covers headphones and loud venues.

When to get your hearing checked

This test can’t tell you whether your hearing is normal. If you often ask people to repeat themselves, struggle to follow conversations in noisy places, keep turning the TV up, or hear ringing in your ears, see a doctor or an audiologist. NIDCD’s page on age-related hearing loss has a short self-check you can go through first.

Hearing age test FAQ

Is this a real hearing test?

No. It is a just-for-fun listening game. A real hearing test is done by a doctor or audiologist with calibrated equipment in a quiet room, and it measures how quiet a tone can get before you stop hearing it. A web page can’t calibrate your speakers or headphones, so this one can only tell you which of its tones you heard on this device.

Why can’t I hear the 17.4 kHz mosquito tone?

Most adults can’t. It is a pitch that generally only young people hear, which is why the Mosquito, a device made to stop teenagers from loitering, uses it. Your headphones or speakers may also be unable to play it.

I can’t hear anything, not even 8 kHz. What’s wrong?

Usually the setup. Check the volume, the silent switch or mode, and which output is selected: speaker, wired headphones or Bluetooth. Some Bluetooth headsets drop to a low-quality mode while their microphone is in use. If quiet sounds are hard to hear in everyday life too, have your hearing checked by a professional.

Should I turn the volume up when a tone goes silent?

No. Every tone plays at the same fixed level, so the test only works if you leave the volume where you set it with the 1 kHz tone. Turning it up to chase a high tone doesn’t make the result more accurate, and it puts your ears at risk if a louder sound comes next.

Was one of the tones silent?

Yes, once per run. At a random level between 12 and 17 kHz, the test first shows the level with no sound at all, because it is easy to hear a tone you are expecting. Whatever you answer, the real tone follows, so the check never costs you a level.

Why does the test stop at 20 kHz?

20 kHz is the usual upper limit given for human hearing. Most devices play audio at 44.1 or 48 kHz, which can carry tones up to about 22 or 24 kHz. If your output runs at a lower rate, the test skips the levels it can’t play and tells you on the result.

Sources

1. ISO 7029:2017. Acoustics — Statistical distribution of hearing thresholds related to age and gender. International Organization for Standardization. iso.org
2. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Age-Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis). nidcd.nih.gov
3. NIDCD. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. nidcd.nih.gov
4. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Age-related hearing loss. US National Library of Medicine. medlineplus.gov
5. World Health Organization. Deafness and hearing loss (fact sheet). who.int
6. World Health Organization. Making listening safe. who.int
7. Wikipedia. The Mosquito. en.wikipedia.org
8. MDN Web Docs. OscillatorNode. developer.mozilla.org
9. MDN Web Docs. BaseAudioContext: sampleRate property. developer.mozilla.org

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