Hearing & Frequency Guides

What the hearing range is, how age and noise affect high-frequency hearing, and how earphones and sample rates change your results — explained with sources.

01 The Human Hearing Range — What 20 Hz to 20 kHz Really Means Where does the familiar 20 Hz–20 kHz figure come from, and how high can adult ears actually hear? Including why the ear's sensitivity differs from one frequency to the next. 02 Age and High-Frequency Hearing — Presbycusis and the 'Mosquito Tone' Why do high sounds fade first as we age? Research findings and statistics, the story of the 17.4 kHz mosquito tone, and why we don't publish an age-by-age limit chart. 03 Preventing Noise-Induced Hearing Loss — WHO Safe Listening Guidelines The WHO safe listening guideline that weighs loudness and time together, rules for earphone use, workplace noise limits and warning signs — with sources. 04 Tinnitus — Understanding the Ringing in Your Ears How common is tinnitus and what causes it? When to see a doctor right away, and what to watch out for when using a tone generator to find your tinnitus frequency. 05 Why Earphones, Sample Rates and Codecs Cut Off High Frequencies When your high limit comes out low because of the device: the Nyquist limit, earphone frequency response, Bluetooth codecs, output latency and reaction time. 06 Frequency Band Guide — What You Hear in the Bass, Mids and Treble What each band from sub-bass to treble sounds like, the frequencies of voices and instruments, and why phone calls sound muffled. 07 How to Use a Tone Generator — From Speaker Checks to Tuning Checking left and right channels, finding rattles, testing a subwoofer, a tuning reference and how waveforms differ — plus how to use a tone generator safely. 08 How This Test Measures — Sweep Method and Accuracy Logarithmic sweeps, the method of limits in both directions, handling anticipated presses, median records and how this differs from a clinical hearing test.