Online Hearing Test - Check Your Hearing Range

How to use this tool

Put on headphones and set your volume to a comfortable level.
Click "Play Tone" for each frequency.
Click "I can hear it" or "I cannot hear it" for each tone.
Your results are shown at the end.

Medical disclaimer

This is an informal hearing range demonstration, not a medical audiometric evaluation. If you have concerns about your hearing, please consult a qualified audiologist or hearing healthcare professional.

Why results vary

Your results depend on your speaker or headphone quality, the volume setting, ambient noise, and your listening environment. Always use good-quality headphones at a comfortable volume for the most consistent results.

Frequency hearing range by age

Age group	Typical hearing range	Notes
Newborns	20 Hz–20 kHz	Full theoretical range
Young adults (20s)	20 Hz–20 kHz	Best sensitivity; high frequencies start declining
Middle age (40–50s)	50 Hz–16 kHz	Noticeable high-frequency loss (presbycusis)
Older adults (60+)	50 Hz–8 kHz	Significant high-frequency loss is normal

Why headphone quality matters

Browser-based hearing tests are limited by your audio equipment. Cheap earbuds or laptop speakers physically cannot reproduce frequencies above 15–16 kHz accurately, so failure to hear a high-frequency tone may reflect hardware limitations rather than your hearing. For meaningful high-frequency testing, use over-ear headphones with a flat frequency response (audiophile or studio monitor quality).

When to see an audiologist

Consider consulting an audiologist if you:

Cannot hear tones below 8 kHz at comfortable volume levels
Notice significantly asymmetric results (one ear much worse than the other)
Experience tinnitus (ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears)
Have difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments

A professional audiogram is performed in a calibrated soundproof booth with calibrated equipment and provides clinically meaningful results that a browser test cannot.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a medical hearing test?

No. This tool is a fun and informative demonstration only. A proper audiometric hearing test must be performed by a licensed audiologist in a sound-treated booth with calibrated equipment.

Why should I use headphones?

Laptop and phone speakers often cannot reproduce high frequencies accurately. Headphones give a much more reliable result.

What frequency range do most adults hear?

Young adults typically hear 20 Hz to 20 kHz. High-frequency hearing (above 8 kHz) typically declines with age and noise exposure.