About the Hearing Range Test
The Hearing Range Test is a free tool that synthesizes sine waves right in your browser so you can estimate how high — and how low — a sound your ears can pick up. A sweep that glides through frequencies on a logarithmic scale measures your high and low limits, and the tone generator lets you pick any frequency and keep listening to it.
There is nothing to install, no sign-up and no audio files to download. Your results are kept only in this device's browser storage.
This is not a medical hearing test. Because it uses uncalibrated earphones and speakers, the result is a reference value that mixes the limits of your ears and your equipment. If you are concerned about your hearing, get a proper test from an ENT doctor or audiologist.
Features
- High limit: a logarithmic sweep from 8 kHz to 22 kHz. Record the moment a tone fades out, or the moment it becomes audible as it comes down from the top.
- Low limit: record the moment the tone fades out as it falls from 250 Hz to 20 Hz, or the moment it becomes audible as it rises from 20 Hz.
- Each ear separately: choose the left, both or right channel, and compare the left–right difference in octaves in the results table.
- Tone generator: entry to 1 Hz, a logarithmic slider and octave jumps; sine, square, triangle and sawtooth waves; left, right or both channels. Includes a 17.4 kHz 'mosquito tone' button.
- Playback environment: the browser's sample rate, the Nyquist limit, the actual playback ceiling and output latency are shown next to your results.
- History: a list of recent attempts and the median for each ear and test. Results can be copied as text.
How to use it
- Turn your device volume down to half or less of your usual level, and use wired headphones or earphones if you can.
- On the 'High limit' or 'Low limit' tab, choose the method, speed and ear, then press Start. The first time, a volume safety prompt appears.
- While the sweep runs, press the big button or the space bar when the tone disappears (fade-out method) or when it first becomes audible (becomes-audible method).
- Test the left and right ears 2–3 times each; the medians build up in the results table. Trying both methods shows how much your reaction time skews the result.
- To listen to one frequency continuously, enter it on the 'Tone generator' tab and press Play.
Volume safety rules
- Lower the device volume before testing and start the volume slider at a small value.
- Don't crank up the volume to hear a frequency you can't hear. The next audible frequency will suddenly be loud.
- This site caps output at −6 dBFS and adds a 0.08-second fade on every start and stop to prevent click noise. Sound stops if you hide the tab or leave the page.
- If your ears hurt, ring or feel blocked, stop right away and rest.
What to keep in mind when reading results
- Your result is the limit of whichever is narrower — your ears or your playback device. Many earphones and laptop speakers cannot reproduce enough of the treble near 20 kHz or the bass below 50 Hz.
- The highest frequency a device can play is half its sample rate (the Nyquist limit). On a 44.1 kHz device this site plays up to about 21.4 kHz.
- The volume display is digital (dBFS), so the actual sound pressure reaching your ear (dB SPL) is unknown. Even for the same person, turning the volume up widens the range.
- Your reaction time and Bluetooth delay shift the recorded frequency slightly. The output latency reported by the browser is corrected automatically.
- Age averages and 'top X%' comparisons are not provided, because comparing against numbers measured under different conditions easily leads to wrong conclusions.
Frequently asked questions
Can this test tell me whether something is wrong with my hearing?
No. This site is not a calibrated audiometer — it is a reference tool that uses ordinary earphones and speakers to estimate 'how high a frequency you can hear'. A clinical pure-tone test finds the quietest sound you can hear at each frequency in a sound-treated room. If you are worried about your hearing, get a professional test.
My high limit cuts off at 16–17 kHz. Is that normal?
The neuroscience textbook Neuroscience (Purves et al.) describes the human hearing range as about 20 Hz–20 kHz, but notes that the upper limit for the average adult is closer to 15–17 kHz. Your earphones or speakers may also be weak above that. Don't judge your hearing from a single result.
My left and right results are different.
Differences can come simply from how the earphones sit, differences between the left and right drivers, or variation in reaction time. Swap the earphones between ears and test again. If the same ear keeps coming out clearly lower, or hearing in one ear drops suddenly, see a doctor.
Why don't you show age averages or an 'ear age'?
The hearing limit depends heavily on how loud the sound is and on the device. Comparing against an 'age chart' with no stated conditions easily leads to wrong conclusions, so the guides only cover sources with clear methods, and the results screen shows only your own history.
Can I use Bluetooth earphones?
Yes, but Bluetooth re-compresses the sound with codecs such as SBC or AAC and adds more delay, so your high limit may come out lower or your records may be skewed. Use wired headphones if you can, and only compare results from the same device.
How loud should the volume be?
Keep the device volume at half your usual level or lower, set it so the start of the sweep (8 kHz for the high limit) is comfortably audible, then don't change it during testing. Raising the volume widens the range, so keep the same settings if you want to compare results.
Where are my results stored?
Only in this browser's localStorage on this device — nothing is sent to a server. You can delete them at any time with 'Clear history' on the results screen or in your browser settings.
References
- Purves D. et al., Neuroscience, 2nd ed. (2001), The Audible Spectrum — NCBI Bookshelf
- Rodríguez Valiente A. et al. (2014), Extended high-frequency (9–20 kHz) audiometry reference thresholds in 645 healthy subjects, International Journal of Audiology 53(8) — DOI
- WHO, Deafness and hearing loss fact sheet (2026-03-03) — who.int
- WHO, Deafness and hearing loss: Safe listening (Q&A) — who.int
- NIDCD, Age-Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis) — nidcd.nih.gov
- The Mosquito (17.4 kHz device) — Wikipedia
- W3C, Web Audio API (outputLatency and more) — w3.org