We play rising high-frequency tones — tap stop the moment you lose it. That highest audible pitch is what we use to estimate your hearing age.
The best results can be obtained through the use of headphones, adequate volume levels, and a quiet room setting.
This test is done for curiosity and educational purposes and not for clinical diagnosis. Your results will change with different headphones, speakers, and settings.
We're all born able to hear up to roughly 20,000 Hz. That top end fades with age — a well-documented condition called presbycusis — and it's one of the most predictable things about how hearing changes over a lifetime.
In your inner ear lies the cochlea, a spiraled organ covered with thousands of tiny hair-like structures known as stereocilia. The stereocilia located towards the bottom are responsible for processing high-pitched sounds; those situated at the top process low-pitched sounds.
Since each sound wave has to travel through the bottom part of the cochlea before reaching the top, the high-pitched hair cells are subjected to the greatest amount of damage through the years; cars, music, loud headphones, etc. Unlike skin or bones, these cells cannot regrow once they are destroyed.