Hearing Test Online — Check Your High-Frequency Hearing Range
Take a free online hearing test to see how high a frequency you can hear, from a 1kHz calibration tone up to 20kHz. Headphones are recommended. This is a self-check tool, not a medical device.
What Is This Hearing Test?
This hearing test starts with a 1kHz calibration tone and then plays a series of high-pitched tones from 8kHz up to 20kHz, letting you self-report which ones you can hear. Tones above roughly 17kHz are often called "mosquito tones" because they tend to become harder to hear with age, and are sometimes used in alert tones or ringtones aimed only at younger listeners.
This tool is not a medical device and does not provide a diagnosis. Your results can be heavily affected by your headphones or speakers, background noise, and your device's volume settings, so please treat them as a rough guide only.
How to Take the Hearing Test
- Get a pair of headphones Built-in speakers often can't reproduce high frequencies accurately, so headphones or earphones are recommended if you have them.
- Set a comfortable volume When you start the test, a 1kHz calibration tone plays. Adjust your volume to a level where it sounds comfortable and clear.
- Confirm you can hear the calibration tone Almost everyone should be able to hear this tone. If you can't, check your device and volume settings first.
- Play and answer each frequency Press "Play Tone" to hear each frequency, then choose whether you heard it before moving to the next one.
- Check your result After the last step, you'll see the highest frequency you heard along with a rough interpretation.
Tips for getting more out of it
- Try not to change your volume partway through the test — turning it up midway will skew your results.
- Take the test in a quiet room so background noise doesn't drown out the tones.
- Built-in speakers on phones and laptops often lose high frequencies, so headphones will give you a more accurate picture.
- Playing tones too loudly can strain your ears, so avoid cranking up the volume just to hear a higher tone.
- Taking the test more than once, on different days, can help you spot a more consistent pattern.
When This Test Comes in Handy
Curious about your high-frequency hearing
A quick, casual way to get a rough sense of your hearing before considering a formal hearing exam.
Wondering if you can still hear "mosquito tones"
Check whether you can pick up the very high-pitched tones often said to be audible only to younger people.
Testing new headphones or earphones
A simple way to check whether your new audio gear can actually reproduce very high frequencies.
Tracking changes in hearing over time
Since high-frequency hearing can shift with age, taking this test occasionally can help you notice changes.
Hearing Test Glossary
- Hertz (Hz)
- A unit that measures the frequency of sound, or how many times it vibrates per second. Higher numbers mean higher-pitched sounds.
- Mosquito Tone
- A sound around 17kHz or higher. Younger people tend to hear it more easily, while it typically becomes harder to hear with age.
- Age-Related Hearing Loss (Presbycusis)
- A gradual decline in hearing that occurs with age, typically affecting higher frequencies first.
- Audiometry
- A formal hearing test performed by medical professionals, usually in a soundproof room, using tones at multiple frequencies to measure hearing levels.
- Range of Human Hearing
- The span of frequencies a human ear can detect, generally considered to be about 20Hz to 20kHz for young, healthy ears.
Frequently Asked Questions
Side Note — The "Mosquito Tone" Only Young Ears Can Hear
The name "mosquito tone" comes from the idea that these very high-pitched, faint sounds resemble the whine of a mosquito. Ranging from roughly 17kHz to 20kHz, these tones tend to be much easier for younger people to hear, and harder to pick up as we age — which is exactly how they earned their buzzy nickname.
This quirk of hearing has been put to real-world use: some shops and public spaces have installed devices that emit a high-frequency tone audible mainly to younger people, as a way to discourage loitering. On the flip side, stories have circulated among students about setting phone ringtones to frequencies supposedly inaudible to teachers, so they could go off unnoticed during class.
The tendency to lose high-frequency hearing first is considered one of the early, characteristic signs of age-related hearing loss (presbycusis). Inside the inner ear, the hair cells responsible for detecting higher frequencies are thought to be particularly vulnerable to wear from sound vibration, gradually losing sensitivity with age and long-term exposure to loud noise.
Finding out just how high a tone you can hear isn't only a fun bit of trivia — it can also be a useful nudge to think about your choice of headphones, or whether you've been listening at too high a volume. If loud environments are a regular part of your day, keeping your volume in check can help protect your high-frequency hearing over time.