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Hearing Range Test (Hz Range Tester)

Sweep a tone across the full 20 Hz – 20 kHz range, test each ear on its own, and mark the lowest and highest pitches you can hear to see your personal hearing range. The textbook young-adult range is 20 Hz to 20 kHz — most of us hear a narrower slice.

🔊 Use headphones at a low volume (essential for testing left and right ears separately). This is for fun and curiosity, not a calibrated audiogram or medical test. Most speakers and headphones can’t reproduce the extremes — below ~40–50 Hz or above ~16 kHz — so a tone you can’t hear is very often your equipment, not your ears. For any real concern about your hearing, see an audiologist.

Sweep & listen

1 kHz
≈ B5
20 Hz200 Hz2 kHz20 kHz

Keep it low. To find a limit, sweep slowly until the tone just disappears, then mark it.

Your range

Sweep down until you can’t hear the tone and mark your lowest; sweep up until it vanishes and mark your highest. Switch ears and compare.

Mark a lowest and highest tone to see your range.

About Your Hearing Range

Human hearing is often quoted as 20 Hz to 20 kHz. That’s an idealized young-adult range — in practice the bottom end is hard to feel as a clear pitch and the top end drops steadily with age (a normal process called presbycusis). A teenager might hear close to 20 kHz; many adults over 50 top out around 12–14 kHz. The low end matters less for everyday hearing and is usually limited by your speakers long before your ears.

This tool lets you explore that range by ear: sweep the slider, and where the tone fades into silence is roughly your limit. Marking the lowest and highest points gives you a personal range and a rough age comparison based on the high end (which is the part that tracks age).

Why headphones, and why per-ear?

Hearing often differs between ears, and testing each one separately can reveal that — but only with headphones, since speakers send sound to both ears at once. Headphones also reproduce high and low frequencies far better than laptop or phone speakers, which roll off the extremes and will make you "fail" tones your ears could actually detect.

What this can’t do

A clinical hearing test measures your threshold (the quietest level you can detect) at each frequency, with calibrated equipment in a quiet room, and produces an audiogram. This tool uses uncalibrated tones at whatever volume and on whatever hardware you have, so it can only show a rough range, not your sensitivity. Treat the numbers as a bit of fun. If you notice hearing loss, ringing, or a difference between your ears that concerns you, see an audiologist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a normal human hearing range?
The classic figure is 20 Hz to 20 kHz, but that’s an idealized young-adult range. Real ranges are usually narrower, especially at the top, and the high-frequency limit declines gradually with age. There’s no single "correct" range.
I can’t hear the very low or very high tones — is something wrong?
Usually not. Most speakers and headphones can’t reproduce below ~40–50 Hz or above ~16 kHz, so silence at the extremes is typically your equipment. Try good headphones at a moderate volume. This isn’t a medical test, so don’t draw conclusions from it.
How do I test each ear separately?
Put on headphones, then choose Left ear or Right ear before playing — the tone is panned fully to that side. Find your range on one side, then switch and compare. (Without headphones, both ears hear everything, so per-ear testing won’t work.)
Can this replace a real hearing test?
No. A clinical test measures how quiet a sound you can detect at each frequency with calibrated gear; this only shows a rough audible range with your own hardware and volume. If you’re worried about your hearing, see an audiologist.
Why does the low end sound buzzy or like clicks?
Very low frequencies are hard for small speakers to produce cleanly, so you may hear distortion, rattle, or the speaker "chuffing" rather than a pure tone. The tool fades the volume to avoid clicks when you change frequency, but it can’t fix what the speaker physically can’t reproduce.
Is the tone loud enough to be safe?
Keep the volume low — just loud enough to compare. Don’t crank it to chase a tone you can’t hear, especially on headphones; protect your hearing. The default volume is intentionally modest.
Is my result saved or sent anywhere?
Nothing is uploaded and the microphone is never used. If you save a result it’s stored only in your own browser so you can compare next time, and you can clear it any time with the Clear button.