What this test measures
This test gives you a quick picture of your own ears: for each ear, how soft a tone at a given pitch can get before you stop noticing it. That lowest level you still notice is called your threshold. Clinics measure thresholds the same basic way, with pure tones at octave steps, following the method in ISO 8253-1.
You need headphones and a quiet room. The tones go to one ear at a time, which speakers cannot do. If you only want to know how high your ears can reach, the hearing age test is quicker. If quiet tones are fine but conversations in noisy places are hard, try the speech in noise test.
How the test works
- Set a comfortable volume. A soft beep repeats in both ears. Adjust your device volume until it is soft but clear, then press The volume is set. Leave the volume alone from here on, because every later level is measured against it.
- Tones, one ear at a time. The left ear goes first, then the right. Each ear hears seven tones in this order: 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 8,000, 500 and 250 Hz, then 1,000 Hz again. That makes 14 tones in total.
- Press when you hear it. After a short random pause, a beeping tone starts at −90 dB, far too quiet to hear. Every half second the next beep is 3 dB louder, up to −15 dB. Press I hear it (or Space / Enter) the moment you notice the beeps. If you press before any tone has started, the test just asks you to wait.
The whole run takes about four minutes. The tones are generated in your browser, and nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.
How to read your result
The result card shows three numbers:
- Tones heard: how many of the 12 test tones you answered (the 1 kHz repeat is not counted here).
- Largest left/right gap: the biggest difference between your two ears at any one pitch.
- 1 kHz repeat: how far apart your two answers at 1,000 Hz were in each ear. It tells you how consistent the run was.
The card turns amber if a tone reached −15 dB without an answer, or if your ears differ by 20 dB or more at any pitch. If your two 1 kHz answers are 10 dB or more apart, the card adds a note that the result is noisy.
Below the card, Your hearing profile plots each ear: crosses and a dashed line for the left ear, circles and a solid line for the right. Higher on the chart means you heard a quieter tone. Look at the shape: a curve that dips at the high pitches, or one ear sitting well below the other, is more informative than any single number.
The levels are in dB below your device's maximum output, not in dB HL (hearing level), the calibrated unit on a clinical audiogram. For that reason the test does not save a score or a personal best: the same ears give different numbers on different headphones or at a different volume. Compare your ears with each other, and compare runs only with the same headphones and volume.
What affects your result
- Background noise. A fridge, traffic or a fan masks the softest tones, especially the low ones.
- Headphones. Earbuds that sit loosely leak low pitches; some models are weaker at 8 kHz. Swapping the left and right earcup shows whether a gap comes from the headphones or from your ears.
- Attention and fatigue. Thresholds are about noticing something very faint. A second run when you are rested is often steadier. This test does not time you; how fast you react to a sound is what the audio reaction time test measures.
- Recent noise. After a concert or a loud commute, ears can be temporarily less sensitive for hours.
Types of hearing loss in plain words
Hearing problems are usually grouped into three kinds. Conductive loss means sound has trouble getting through the ear canal or middle ear, for example because of earwax or fluid. Sensorineural loss means the inner ear or the hearing nerve is affected, which is the typical pattern with age and with noise. Mixed loss is a combination. Noise damage often shows first as a dip around 3–6 kHz, so the 4 kHz point on your chart is worth a glance if you spend time in loud places. An online test cannot tell these types apart; a clinic can.
How common is hearing loss?
According to the WHO World Report on Hearing (2021), more than 1.5 billion people live with some degree of hearing loss, and about 430 million of them have disabling hearing loss. WHO projects that nearly 2.5 billion people will have some hearing loss by 2050, and about 700 million will need hearing care. In the WHO grading, normal hearing means thresholds below 20 dB HL.
Much of noise-related loss is preventable. The WHO–ITU H.870 standard (ITU 2018, published by the WHO in 2019) for safe listening devices uses a reference of 80 dB(A) for up to 40 hours a week for adults; louder listening uses up that weekly allowance faster.
When to see an audiologist or ENT doctor
This test is a screening for curiosity and does not replace a hearing assessment. Book a proper test if tones stay unheard on a second run, if one ear is clearly weaker with different headphones too, or if you often ask people to repeat themselves. Go to a doctor the same day if you notice sudden hearing loss in one or both ears, new one-sided ringing, or dizziness: sudden hearing loss is treated as urgent, and early treatment matters. If you live with constant ringing, the tinnitus test can help you describe its pitch, but it does not replace an exam.
More checks like this are collected on our hearing tests page.
Sources
- ISO 8253-1:2010. Acoustics — Audiometric test methods — Part 1: Pure-tone air and bone conduction audiometry. International Organization for Standardization.
- World Health Organization. (2021). World report on hearing. WHO.
- ITU-T. (2018). Recommendation H.870: Guidelines for safe listening devices/systems. International Telecommunication Union.
- World Health Organization & International Telecommunication Union. (2019). Safe listening devices and systems: A WHO-ITU standard. WHO.
Frequently asked questions
Is an online hearing test accurate?
It is accurate enough to compare your two ears and spot pitches that are harder for you, but not to give a clinical number. Your headphones and volume are not calibrated, so the levels are relative to your device, not dB HL like an audiogram from an audiologist.
Why does the result show negative dB values?
The levels are measured in dB below the loudest sound your device can play. A threshold of −80 dB means you heard a tone 80 dB quieter than the device maximum at your volume setting. More negative means you heard a quieter tone.
Why is my hearing test result not saved as a score?
Because the numbers depend on your headphones and your volume setting. A personal best would only show that you changed the setup, not that your ears changed. Compare runs yourself using the same headphones and volume.
What does a big difference between my left and right ear mean?
First swap the headphones around and test again. If the gap moves to the other ear, the headphones are the cause. If it stays with the same ear at 20 dB or more, it is worth having your hearing checked by an audiologist or ENT doctor, and promptly if it started suddenly.
Which frequencies does this hearing test check?
250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000 and 8,000 Hz in each ear, the standard octave pitches of a pure-tone hearing test. The 1,000 Hz tone is played twice per ear to check how consistent your answers are.
Can I take the test without headphones?
Not properly. The tones are sent to one ear at a time, and speakers send sound to both ears and add room noise. Any wired or wireless headphones are better than speakers.
When should I get a professional hearing test?
If tones stay unheard on a second run, if one ear is weaker with different headphones too, or if you struggle to follow conversations. Sudden hearing loss, new ringing in one ear or dizziness need a doctor the same day.