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About this tool
Free online hearing test: find your highest audible frequency with an 8–20 kHz sweep and compare left and right ears from 250 Hz to 8 kHz.
This online hearing test has two parts. The high-frequency test plays a pure tone that sweeps from 8 kHz to 20 kHz (or back down), or steps through eleven fixed frequencies, and records the highest one you can hear — the figure that falls first with age and noise exposure. The left/right ear test sends pulsed tones to one ear at a time at 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 8000 Hz, starting very quietly and rising in 5 dB steps; the quietest level you hear twice is plotted on an audiogram-style chart. All tones are generated in your browser with capped volume, results are saved on your device, and it is a self-check, not a medical test.
Open Hearing Test on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Put on headphones, press Play reference and set your system volume so the 1 kHz tone is soft but clear, then check the Left and Right buttons play from the correct side.
In High-frequency range, choose Sweep 8 → 20 kHz and press Start sweep, then press I can't hear it (or Space) when the tone fades out; Steps lets you play 8–20 kHz tones one by one and mark Heard or Not heard.
Open Left / right ear test, pick Both ears and press Start ear test; press I hear it (or Space) whenever you hear the beeps at 250 Hz–8 kHz.
Read the chart (✕ left, ○ right) and the dBFS table, then use Copy results; Your results history keeps each upper limit and ear test for later comparison.
A frequency-range sweep for the upper limit of hearing, and a per-ear threshold test at the six standard audiogram frequencies — most online tests offer only one.
The ear test follows a simplified clinical ascending procedure: 5 dB up until you respond, 15 dB down after each response, and the level heard twice is recorded. Random gaps stop you anticipating tones, and presses with no tone are counted.
Every tone fades in and out to avoid clicks, the per-ear test cannot exceed −12 dBFS and high-frequency tones are capped at −6 dBFS, and calibration asks you to set a soft, comfortable volume first.
Each result is stored locally with its date, so you can repeat the test with the same headphones and volume and compare over months.
| Age | Typical upper limit | Can usually hear 17 kHz? |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 | 17–20 kHz | Yes |
| 20–29 | 15–17 kHz | Sometimes |
| 30–39 | 14–16 kHz | Rarely |
| 40–49 | 12–14 kHz | No |
| 50–59 | 10–12 kHz | No |
| 60 and over | 8–11 kHz | No |
Ranges are approximate and vary a lot between individuals; noise exposure lowers them. Equipment that rolls off high frequencies also lowers measured results.
It is useful for comparisons — left against right, or this month against last — but it cannot give clinical decibel values. Your headphones, the volume setting and background noise all shift the numbers, and the levels are relative to your device's maximum output, not calibrated dB HL. An audiologist uses calibrated equipment in a sound-treated booth.
Young people with healthy hearing can usually hear from about 20 Hz up to around 20 kHz. The upper limit falls with age, typically to about 15–17 kHz in your twenties, 12–14 kHz in your forties and lower after 60. Loud-noise exposure speeds up this decline.
As a rough guide: under 20, about 17–20 kHz; 20–29, 15–17 kHz; 30–39, 14–16 kHz; 40–49, 12–14 kHz; 50–59, 10–12 kHz; 60 and over, 8–11 kHz. Individual results vary widely, and speakers or earbuds that roll off at high frequencies can make your limit look lower than it is.
Yes for the ear test, which has to send sound to one ear at a time. Wired headphones are best; Bluetooth works but some codecs cut off high frequencies around 16 kHz. Laptop and phone speakers often cannot reproduce high frequencies at all, so the range test would measure the speaker rather than you.
Most likely it is age-related decline, which is normal. It can also be your equipment: many earbuds, Bluetooth codecs and speakers fade above 15–16 kHz. Try wired headphones and the 20 → 8 kHz sweep direction. Never turn the volume up to chase a tone — high frequencies at high level can be harmful.
dBFS means decibels relative to full scale, the loudest signal your device can output. −60 dBFS is 60 dB quieter than maximum. Because every device and volume setting differs, compare results only when you use the same headphones and volume. More negative numbers mean you heard a quieter tone, which is better.
No. It plots your thresholds in the same layout — frequency across, level down, ✕ for the left ear and ○ for the right — but the levels are not calibrated to dB HL, so the chart cannot be compared with clinical norms. Use it to spot differences between your ears or changes over time.
Small differences of 5–10 dB are common and can come from how the headphones sit. If one ear is 15 dB or more worse at several frequencies, re-seat or swap the headphones and test again. A difference that persists, or any sudden change, is worth checking with a doctor or audiologist promptly.
The tones are generated with hard caps — the ear test never exceeds −12 dBFS and high-frequency tones −6 dBFS — and they fade in and out to avoid clicks. Set your volume with the soft reference tone first and do not raise it during the test. Stop if any tone feels loud or causes discomfort.
The “mosquito tone” is a high-pitched sound, usually around 17 kHz, that many teenagers can hear but most adults cannot. Use Steps and play 17 kHz, or the sweep, to see whether you can hear it at the level you set.