A free online hearing test in four short steps. Find the highest and lowest tones you can hear, get an estimate of your ear age, then check each ear at seven frequencies to see a simple audiogram style chart. It takes about five minutes and runs in your browser.
Make sure each side plays in the correct ear, then set your device volume using the reference tone. Keep that volume for the whole test.
Press each button. You should hear a short tone only in that ear.
Play the 1kHz reference tone and change your device volume until the tone is soft but clear, like a quiet conversation. Then leave the volume alone.
A tone glides slowly. Press the button the moment it fades away completely. Do the high test first, it gives your estimated ear age.
You will hear short groups of three beeps that slowly get louder. Press I Hear It as soon as you hear any beep, even faintly. The left ear goes first, then the right.
A summary of every test you have run on this page. Run the tests again any time and the results update.
A test in your browser is a quick, private way to notice changes and decide whether a full check is worth booking. It helps to know where its limits are.
The test follows the same basic idea as a clinic hearing test, adapted for headphones at home. Here is exactly what happens in each step, so you can judge the results for yourself.
A reference tone checks that each side plays in the correct ear and helps you pick one comfortable volume, which stays the same for the whole test.
A tone glides from 8kHz up to 20kHz, then from 200Hz down to 20Hz. You press when it disappears. The highest tone is compared with the typical upper limit at different ages to give a rough ear age.
Each ear hears 7 frequencies: 250Hz, 500Hz, 1kHz, 2kHz, 4kHz, 6kHz and 8kHz, the core range of a clinical audiogram. Each tone starts very quiet and rises in 5 dB steps until you respond, with random gaps so you cannot guess the rhythm.
Your answers are drawn on an audiogram style chart, X for the left ear and O for the right, as audiologists mark them. It shows differences between ears and frequencies, not calibrated hearing levels.
Why the levels are relative. A clinic uses calibrated equipment, so 0 dB HL means the same thing everywhere. Your headphones and device volume are unknown, so this test can only compare your own ears and frequencies with each other. That is why it is a screening and never a diagnosis.
Age related hearing loss, called presbycusis, slowly takes away the top of your range. It can start in your 20s. Play each tone and stop at the first one you cannot hear. This is a rough guide, and some people keep or lose high tones much earlier than average.
The 17.4kHz tone is the so-called mosquito tone. Most teenagers hear it easily and many adults do not. Keep these tones quiet and short.
In a clinic, an audiologist finds the quietest sound you can hear at each frequency, measured in decibels hearing level, or dB HL. The World Health Organization groups the average of your better ear into these grades.
Up to 20 dBHears soft speech and whispers easily.
20 to 35 dBFine in quiet, harder in noisy places.
35 to 50 dBMay struggle with normal speech in noise.
50 to 65 dBStruggles in most conversations.
65 to 80 dBHears raised voices only, with difficulty.
80 to 95 dBHears very loud sounds only.
95 dB and moreCannot hear speech or most loud sounds.
Based on the WHO grading of hearing loss. An online test cannot give you a dB HL figure, because it does not know how loud your headphones play.
Figures from the World Health Organization's fact sheet on deafness and hearing loss.
People worldwide need rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss, including 34 million children.
People are expected to have some degree of hearing loss by 2050.
Young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss from unsafe listening.
The threshold for normal hearing in both ears. Worse than 35 dB in the better ear counts as disabling.
Hearing usually changes slowly, so the first signs are often things other people notice. Tap each one that fits.
Most hearing changes happen slowly and can wait for a routine appointment. A few cannot. Whatever this online test shows, these signs need a real examination.
The NIDCD advises treating sudden deafness as a medical emergency and seeing a doctor immediately. It often comes with a feeling of fullness, ringing or dizziness, and is easy to mistake for a blocked ear.
Age related loss cannot be stopped, but noise damage is almost always avoidable. These habits make the biggest difference.
A common rule of thumb is no more than 60% volume for about 60 minutes at a time, then a break.
Long exposure above about 85 dB can damage hearing. If you must shout to be heard at arm's length, it is too loud.
Concerts, clubs, sports and power tools. Musician's earplugs lower the level without muffling the sound.
Run this test every few months to spot changes, and book a full check if your results drop.
It is good for spotting differences between your ears, between frequencies and over time. It cannot give exact hearing levels, because headphones and devices play at different volumes and nothing is calibrated. Treat it as a screening, not a diagnosis.
Most people hear from about 20Hz to 20kHz when young. The top end drops with age, and the average adult hears up to roughly 16kHz. Sounds below 20Hz are felt more than heard.
It compares the highest tone you heard with what is typical at different ages. A high result means your top end is like that of a younger person. It is a fun, rough guide, and your headphones can also limit the result.
The tiny hair cells that pick up high frequencies wear out first with age and noise. Your headphones may also stop playing near 16kHz to 18kHz, so try a second pair if you are unsure.
An audiogram is a chart of the quietest sound you can hear at each frequency, usually from 250Hz to 8kHz, for each ear. The Ear Check on this page draws a similar chart, using relative levels instead of calibrated dB HL.
Yes. Headphones let the test check each ear on its own and keep room noise out. Over-ear or in-ear headphones both work. Turn off noise cancelling, EQ and spatial audio effects first.
First, run the test again and swap the headphones around to rule out a faulty side. If one ear is still clearly weaker, or the change came on suddenly, see a doctor or audiologist soon. Sudden hearing loss in one ear needs prompt medical care.
Yes. The ear check starts very quiet and stops as soon as you press the button. Set your volume with the reference tone, keep it moderate, and stop if any tone feels uncomfortable.
You can copy your results and share them as background, but the audiologist will run a proper calibrated test. Mention any ringing, sudden changes or difficulty in noisy places too.
Your last result is kept only in this browser so you can compare next time. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.
See a doctor immediately for sudden hearing loss, usually in one ear, because treatment works best when it starts early. Book an appointment soon for one weaker ear, ringing that does not go away, ear pain, dizziness or hearing that keeps getting worse.
This page is written by the Sound Tester team, reviewed by a clinical audiologist and checked against the WHO, NIDCD, ASHA and published clinical guidelines. The review date is shown at the top of the page.
Every health figure on this page comes from one of these organizations or guidelines. We check them again whenever the page is reviewed.
Real problems from listeners, answered and checked by the Sound Tester Audio Team.
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