How to take the online hearing test
- Put on your headphones with the R side on your right ear and the L side on your left ear, and go somewhere quiet. Wired headphones or earphones are best. Turn off spatial audio, equaliser presets and Mono audio. Then press Start hearing test.
- Set your volume: a 1 kHz reference tone plays a few times in both ears. Adjust your device volume until it is clear but comfortable, then leave the volume alone until you finish. The test continues by itself (or press Continue).
- Right ear: a screen says Now testing your right ear and counts down from 3. Short groups of three beeps then play in your right ear at random moments. Press I heard it, tap the button or press the Space bar every time you hear them, however faint. If you hear nothing, do nothing.
- Left ear: the same again for your left ear. The test covers 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 kHz, then 500 and 250 Hz in each ear (more under Options) and takes about five to ten minutes in total.
- Read your results: the estimated hearing score comes first, then the chart and table with the quietest level each ear heard at each frequency. Re-test any frequency that looks odd, then save a PNG or print it.
The separate Highest frequency test steps from 8 kHz towards 20 kHz. As in the main test, you only press when you hear a tone; if a tone goes unanswered twice, the test stops and shows the highest one you heard. A progress indicator and an elapsed-time clock run at a steady pace in both tests; they never change when a tone plays, so they cannot give the answer away.
How the test works
The page generates pure sine tones with your browser's Web Audio API and plays them in the left or right channel only. For each frequency it uses a simplified version of the method audiologists use for pure-tone audiometry. Each frequency starts at or below the level of the reference tone. Each time you hear it, the next one is 10 dB quieter; each time you miss it, the next one is 5 dB louder. Because the level keeps zig-zagging around the edge of what you can hear, your threshold is the lowest level you heard on two rising runs (tones that came after a miss). If that rule is not met within 18 tones, the page uses the lowest level you heard on a rising run and marks the result with an asterisk as less consistent.
Tones come after random pauses and some rounds are deliberately silent. Pressing during a silent round is counted as a false alarm and reported with your results, because guessing makes thresholds look better than they are. For safety, no tone is ever more than 10 dB louder than your reference tone, every beep fades in and out, and the Stop button or Esc silences everything at once.
Why results are relative, not dB HL
A clinical audiogram is measured in dB HL (hearing level) on calibrated equipment. A web page cannot do that: it does not know your device volume, your headphones' sensitivity and seal, or what the operating system does to the sound. That is why this test asks you to set a reference tone and reports every result as dB relative to that reference. A result of −45 dB means you heard a tone 45 dB quieter than the reference at that frequency. The numbers are only comparable with tests taken on the same headphones at the same volume setting.
It also explains why a healthy result is not a flat line: ears are naturally less sensitive at low frequencies and at the top of the range, and headphones are rarely equally loud at every frequency, so a curve that dips at both ends is expected.
How the hearing score is calculated
Many people want a single number, so the results show an estimated hearing score out of 100 and, below it, an estimated percentage hearing loss. Both are rough conversions, not measurements:
- Estimated hearing level. Each threshold is converted to an approximate dB HL by assuming you set the reference tone about 50 dB above the quietest 1 kHz tone a typical young adult can hear (a comfortable listening level), and by correcting for the fact that, through headphones, normal ears need a little more sound at some frequencies than at 1 kHz (about 18.5 dB more at 250 Hz, 4.5 dB at 500 Hz, 2 to 2.5 dB at 2 and 4 kHz).
- Hearing score per ear = 100 minus the average estimated level at 500 Hz, 1, 2 and 4 kHz (the four-frequency average the World Health Organization uses), with levels below 0 dB HL counted as 0. So 0 dB HL gives 100, 20 dB gives 80, 35 dB gives 65.
- Overall hearing score = (5 × the better ear's score + the worse ear's score) ÷ 6, so a weaker ear lowers it, but less than the better ear raises it.
- Estimated hearing loss uses the standard AMA/AAO-HNS formula: the average at 500 Hz, 1, 2 and 3 kHz (3 kHz is the mean of 2 and 4 kHz, because the test does not play 3 kHz), minus 25 dB, times 1.5%, limited to 0 to 100%, then combined as (5 × better ear + worse ear) ÷ 6. Because it only counts losses above 25 dB, mild dips can show 0% even when the hearing score is below 100.
- Grade names: each ear's four-frequency average is placed in the WHO grades (under 20 dB normal, 20 to under 35 mild, 35 to under 50 moderate, 50 to under 65 moderately severe, 65 to under 80 severe, 80 to under 95 profound, 95 or more complete). The WHO normally grades the better ear; the page shows each ear and labels it as an estimate.
Limits: everything rests on the reference-tone assumption. If you turned the volume up because sounds seem quiet to you, every level shifts and a real hearing loss can be hidden behind a high score; a very quiet room and sensitive headphones can push it the other way. Use the numbers to compare tests on the same setup, never as a diagnosis. Only a calibrated test by an audiologist can measure hearing loss.
Reading the audiogram chart
The chart follows the clinical convention: frequency runs from low pitch on the left to high pitch on the right, and better hearing is higher on the chart, because a point near the top means you heard a quieter tone. Following the usual audiogram symbols, the right ear is a red O and the left ear a blue X. An arrow pointing down means that ear did not hear the tone even at the loudest level the test allows; an arrow pointing up means you heard the quietest level available.
The most meaningful thing an uncalibrated test can show is a difference between your ears, because both ears share the same headphones, volume and room. The table highlights any frequency where the ears differ by 15 dB or more. One highlighted frequency is often caused by headphone fit: re-seat the headphones and use the re-test button. If two or more frequencies still differ, a professional hearing check is worthwhile. A useful trick is to turn the headphones round and test again: if the weaker side moves with the headphones, the headphones are the cause.
| What you see | What it may mean |
|---|---|
| Both ears close together, dipping at the ends | A typical pattern for this kind of uncalibrated test |
| One ear clearly lower at several frequencies | Worth re-testing; if it persists, ask for a hearing check |
| Both ears drop at 4 to 8 kHz | Can be headphones, but high frequencies are also where age and noise often affect hearing first |
| Many false alarms | Results are less precise; try again somewhere quieter |
What this test can and cannot tell you
It can show whether your ears hear about equally, how you compare with an earlier test on the same setup, and roughly where your hearing fades at high frequencies. It cannot measure your true hearing level (the score is only an estimate), diagnose hearing loss or its cause, test bone conduction or speech understanding, or replace an audiologist or doctor.
When to see a professional: if you notice that speech is getting harder to follow, you often turn the TV up, you have ringing or buzzing in your ears (tinnitus), ear pain, discharge or dizziness, or hearing that is worse in one ear. Sudden hearing loss, especially in one ear, should be checked by a doctor urgently, because early treatment can matter. Do not wait for an online test to confirm it.
Hearing, age and noise
The range of human hearing is usually quoted as about 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Many young people can hear up to roughly 17 to 20 kHz, and the upper limit usually falls gradually with age, often starting in early adulthood. Long or repeated exposure to loud noise, from work, concerts, power tools or loud headphones, tends to affect the high frequencies first, often around 3 to 6 kHz. Most of the sounds that make speech understandable sit roughly between 250 Hz and 8 kHz, so not hearing a 17 kHz tone says little about how well you follow conversation. Many laptop and phone speakers, and some headphones and Bluetooth connections, cannot reproduce very high or very low tones, so the highest frequency test reflects your equipment as well as your ears.
How to protect your hearing
- A common rule of thumb for headphones is 60/60: no more than about 60% of the maximum volume for about 60 minutes at a time, then a break.
- Use noise-cancelling headphones on trains and planes, so you do not turn the volume up to drown out the noise.
- Wear earplugs at concerts, clubs, motorsport and when using loud tools, and take breaks away from the noise.
- Ringing or muffled hearing after a loud event means the noise was loud enough to be risky.
Before the test, you can make sure both earpieces work with the speaker and headphone test. For calls, check your microphone with the mic test, or browse all device tests.
Privacy: everything runs in your browser. Tones are generated on your device, nothing is recorded or uploaded, and only your latest results are kept in this browser's local storage until you press Clear saved result.
Frequently asked questions
Is an online hearing test accurate?
Only in a relative sense. A browser cannot know how loud the sound actually is at your ear, so no online test can give true dB HL values or a diagnosis, and the hearing score here is only an estimate. It is good at comparing your two ears and comparing results over time on the same headphones and volume, and it can be a prompt to book a proper hearing test.
Do I need headphones for a hearing test?
Yes. Headphones are the only way to play a tone to one ear at a time and keep room noise and echoes out. Wired headphones are best; Bluetooth works, but some connections cut off the highest frequencies. Laptop and phone speakers are not suitable.
Why do I hear better in one ear?
Often it is the equipment: an earpiece that fits less snugly, a balance setting, or one driver that is weaker. Re-seat the headphones, check the balance, and try turning them round. If one ear is still clearly weaker at several frequencies, or the change came on suddenly, see a doctor or audiologist.
What frequency should I be able to hear?
Many young people can hear up to around 17 to 20 kHz, and the upper limit usually falls with age. There is no single correct number, and your headphones may stop before your ears do. Speech mainly uses roughly 250 Hz to 8 kHz, which is what the main test covers.
What does my hearing score mean?
The hearing score (out of 100) is 100 minus your estimated average hearing level at 500 Hz to 4 kHz, with the better ear counting five times as much as the worse one; 100 means no loss was estimated, and every 10 dB of estimated loss takes off about 10 points. The percentage below it is the standard AMA/AAO formula, which ignores the first 25 dB, so mild loss can still show 0%. Both assume your reference tone was set to a comfortable level. Because the browser cannot know the real sound level, treat it as a rough guide and a way to compare tests, not a substitute for an audiologist, who uses calibrated equipment in a quiet booth and can examine your ears.
Does the test store my results?
Your latest result is saved only in your own browser's local storage, so you can compare it with a later test. Nothing is sent to a server. Press Clear saved result to delete it.
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