The human hearing range is usually given as about 20 hertz (Hz) to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz). That is the textbook range for young, healthy ears. Most adults do not reach the top of it: the highest pitches are the first to fade, with age and with loud noise. Below you will find what the numbers mean, which frequencies matter most for everyday hearing, how the upper limit changes over a lifetime and how loud sound has to be before it becomes a risk. To find your own upper limit, try the hearing age test.
What frequency can humans hear?
Frequency is how many times a sound wave vibrates per second, measured in hertz. Low frequencies sound deep (a bass drum), high frequencies sound shrill (a whistle or a mosquito).
The neuroscience textbook by Purves and colleagues puts the human range at about 20 Hz to 20 kHz. It adds two important details: infants can hear slightly above 20 kHz, and in average adults the upper limit is often closer to 15 to 17 kHz.
| Range | Name | Can humans hear it? |
|---|---|---|
| below 20 Hz | infrasound | not heard as a tone |
| 20 Hz to 20 kHz | audible range | yes, in young healthy ears |
| above 20 kHz | ultrasound | no |
The range is not equally sensitive everywhere. Equal-loudness contours, standardised in ISO 226, show that our ears are most sensitive roughly between 2 and 5 kHz, and that very low and very high tones have to be much louder before we hear them. That middle region is also where much of the information in speech lies, which is why hearing tests and the WHO grading of hearing loss focus on frequencies from 500 Hz to 4,000 Hz.
How the top of the range falls with age
High pitches are picked up by hair cells at the base of the cochlea, the snail-shaped part of the inner ear. They are exposed to every sound that enters the ear, they take the first hit from ageing and noise, and they do not grow back. That is why age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) normally starts at the top of the range and moves slowly downwards.
Two sources describe this well:
- ISO 7029:2017 is the international standard for how hearing thresholds are distributed by age and sex in otologically healthy people. Its curves show the largest changes with age at the high frequencies.
- Rodríguez Valiente and colleagues (2014) measured 645 healthy people aged 5 to 90 between 9 and 20 kHz. Thresholds rose with both frequency and age. Among 20 to 69 year olds, women had lower (better) thresholds than men, especially at 12.5 and 16 kHz.
Neither source gives a single cut-off frequency for each age, so be careful with online charts that claim "at 40 you can hear up to X kHz". What you can say safely is that young people are the most likely to hear 17 kHz or more, and that the chance falls with age.
The mosquito tone
The best known demonstration of age and high pitch is the "mosquito tone". In the mid-2000s, the British inventor Howard Stapleton built a device called the Mosquito to keep teenagers from gathering outside shops. It played a high tone around 17 kHz that many young people could hear and most adults could not. Our hearing age test uses the same idea, but climbs from 8 to 20 kHz step by step so you find your own limit instead of a single yes or no.
Remember that many phone speakers, laptops and Bluetooth headphones cannot play tones above about 16 kHz. If you hear nothing above that, the device may be the limit, not your ears.
Loudness: decibels and hearing thresholds
Frequency is only half of hearing. The other half is how quiet a sound can be before you stop noticing it, called your hearing threshold. Clinics measure it in decibels hearing level (dB HL), where 0 dB HL is the typical threshold of young healthy ears. The World Health Organization grades hearing by the average threshold of the better ear at 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 Hz:
| Average threshold (better ear) | WHO grade |
|---|---|
| under 20 dB HL | normal hearing |
| 20 to under 35 dB HL | mild hearing loss |
| 35 to under 50 dB HL | moderate hearing loss |
| 50 to under 65 dB HL | moderately severe hearing loss |
| 65 to under 80 dB HL | severe hearing loss |
| 80 to under 95 dB HL | profound hearing loss |
| 95 dB HL or more | complete hearing loss |
A browser cannot measure dB HL accurately, because your headphones and volume are not calibrated. Our hearing test still gives a useful left/right profile from 250 Hz to 8 kHz, and the speech in noise test checks the thing most people actually notice first: following speech against background noise.
How loud is too loud?
The same hair cells that sense high pitches are damaged by loud sound, and the risk depends on both level and time. The WHO-ITU safe listening standard sets a weekly sound allowance for personal audio devices: 80 dB for 40 hours a week for adults, and 75 dB for 40 hours a week for children. WHO illustrates how quickly the safe time shrinks as the level rises:
| Level | Safe listening time per week (WHO) |
|---|---|
| 80 dB | 40 hours |
| 85 dB | 12 hours 30 minutes |
| 90 dB | 4 hours |
| 95 dB | 1 hour 15 minutes |
| 100 dB | 20 minutes |
Practical WHO advice: keep your device volume below 60% of maximum, use well-fitting or noise-cancelling headphones so you do not have to turn it up, wear earplugs at concerts and in loud places, and take breaks. For workplaces, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends a limit of 85 dBA averaged over an 8-hour day, halving the allowed time for every 3 dB above that.
When to see a professional
A falling upper limit on its own is a normal part of ageing and rarely affects speech, which relies mostly on pitches far below the top of the range. See an audiologist or ENT doctor if you struggle to follow conversations, if one ear seems different from the other, or if ringing in your ears does not go away; the tinnitus test can help you describe its pitch. Sudden hearing loss in one or both ears needs medical help the same day. Online tests are self-checks, not a diagnosis.
Sources
- Purves D, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, et al., eds. Neuroscience. 2nd ed. Sinauer Associates, 2001. Section: The Audible Spectrum.
- ISO 226:2023. Acoustics — Normal equal-loudness-level contours. International Organization for Standardization.
- ISO 7029:2017. Acoustics — Statistical distribution of hearing thresholds related to age and gender. International Organization for Standardization.
- Rodríguez Valiente A, Trinidad A, García Berrocal JR, Górriz C, Ramírez Camacho R. Extended high-frequency (9–20 kHz) audiometry reference thresholds in 645 healthy subjects. International Journal of Audiology. 2014;53(8):531–545.
- World Health Organization. World Report on Hearing. WHO, 2021 (grades of hearing loss).
- World Health Organization and International Telecommunication Union. Safe listening devices and systems: a WHO-ITU standard (H.870). WHO, 2019.
- World Health Organization. Deafness and hearing loss: safe listening (questions and answers).
- NIOSH. Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Noise Exposure (Publication 98-126). 1998.
Frequently asked questions
What is the human hearing range?
About 20 Hz to 20 kHz in young, healthy ears. Infants can hear slightly above 20 kHz, while in average adults the upper limit is often closer to 15 to 17 kHz.
What frequency can humans hear best?
Equal-loudness contours (ISO 226) show that the ear is most sensitive roughly between 2 and 5 kHz. Very low and very high tones have to be much louder before we notice them.
Why can't adults hear high frequencies?
High pitches are sensed by hair cells at the base of the cochlea, which take the first hit from ageing and loud noise and do not grow back. That is why age-related hearing loss usually starts at the top of the range.
What is the mosquito tone?
A high tone around 17 kHz, made famous by the Mosquito device that Howard Stapleton built in the mid-2000s to keep teenagers away from shops. Many young people can hear it and most adults cannot.
Can I hear 20 kHz?
Some young people can, but many adults cannot. Also check your equipment: many phone speakers, laptops and Bluetooth headphones cannot play tones above about 16 kHz.
How many decibels is normal hearing?
In the WHO grading, an average threshold under 20 dB HL in the better ear at 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 Hz counts as normal hearing. 20 to under 35 dB HL is mild hearing loss.
How loud is too loud for headphones?
The WHO-ITU safe listening standard allows about 80 dB for 40 hours a week for adults and 75 dB for children. At 100 dB the safe time drops to about 20 minutes a week. Keeping the volume below 60% of maximum is a simple rule.