Hearing Frequency Test
How high can you hear? Run a frequency sweep or step through standard test tones to find the highest pitch you can still hear, then compare it with the typical range for your age.
How it works
- 1Put on wired headphones and set a comfortable, moderate volume.
- 2Run the rising sweep and press the button when the tone disappears, then try the falling sweep.
- 3Read your highest frequency and compare it with the age table.
How the hearing test works
The rising sweep starts at 8 kHz, which almost everyone can hear, and climbs toward 22 kHz. You press the button the moment the tone fades into silence. The falling sweep works the other way: it starts above your hearing and comes down until you hear it. Doing both cancels out most of the effect of reaction time, and the result is the average of the two.
The tone-by-tone test plays three short beeps at each standard frequency from 125 Hz to 20 kHz, and you answer whether you heard them. It's slower but easier to repeat, and the low frequencies make a useful check that your headphones and both ears are working.
Hearing range by age
High-frequency hearing declines with age for everyone. As a rough guide, most people under 20 hear 19 kHz, under 25 about 17 kHz, under 30 about 16 kHz, under 40 about 14 kHz and under 50 about 12 kHz. Noise exposure from concerts, power tools or loud headphones can bring the limit down sooner. People vary a lot, so being a few kHz either side of the table is normal.
Getting a reliable result
Use wired over-ear or in-ear headphones in a quiet room. Speakers can't play the top frequencies well and add room reflections. Keep the volume the same for every run, test each ear on its own as well as both together, and repeat the sweep a couple of times: your answer settles after the first try.
When to see a professional
This is a hearing range check, not a medical test. If you couldn't hear tones at 8 kHz or below, if one ear is clearly worse, or if you notice ringing, muffled speech or trouble following conversations, book a proper hearing test with an audiologist or your doctor.