High-Frequency Hearing Test — 8–22 kHz
Check which high tones from 8 to 22 kHz you notice with discrete sine presets and loudness warnings. Educational screening only. Free in your browser.
Protect your hearing. Start at a low volume. Never raise the volume to make a tone audible. Levels are shown in dBFS, relative to full scale — not SPL.
How it works
Discrete sine presets at 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 kHz are generated live with the Web Audio API at a modest fixed gain with a click-free envelope. Each preset plays only from a button you press, per-step heard/not-heard answers build a map, and the last map persists in localStorage. Nothing is uploaded or recorded.
A high-frequency hearing test checks which tones you notice across the top octave. Play discrete sine presets from 8 kHz up to 22 kHz, mark each one heard or not heard, and build a personal heard map. The page warns before the first playback, keeps levels modest, and saves your last map in this browser only. Results are informational screening, not a medical test or an age diagnosis.
Discrete 8–22 kHz tones
Each preset is a continuous sine at exactly the labelled frequency with a click-free envelope. Work upward from 8 kHz at a low, fixed volume. If a tone is silent, mark it not heard and move on — never turn up the volume to chase it.
Age framing without diagnosis
Many adults notice tones above 14–16 kHz fading, and equipment limits — laptop speakers, earbuds, Bluetooth resampling — remove the top octave before hearing does. This page states that plainly next to the controls and draws no conclusions from your map. Treat a steep drop as a reason to retest on better gear or talk to a professional, not as an age verdict.
Your high-frequency map
Heard steps show as mint chips and missed steps as muted chips, with untested steps quiet until you mark them. The readout counts heard tones out of eight, and the saved line shows when your last map was stored locally.
Aliases covered on this page: high frequency hearing test, high frequency test, 16khz test, and upper hearing range check. Informational screening only.
Frequently asked questions
What frequencies does this test cover?
Discrete sine tones at 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 kHz. Each preset plays a continuous sine at exactly the labelled frequency through the Web Audio API. Nothing is uploaded and no sound plays until you press Play tone.
Is it normal not to hear the highest tones?
Yes, and this page makes no diagnosis from that. Sensitivity above 14–16 kHz commonly declines with age, and laptop speakers and Bluetooth codecs often roll off the top octave. A missed tone here is informational only — it says nothing about hearing health on its own.
Why the loudness warning before I press play?
High-frequency tones can sound harsh and piercing even at modest levels, and the urge is to turn up the volume to chase a tone you cannot hear. Start low, keep the volume fixed, and never raise it to make a high tone audible.
How should I run the test?
Use wired headphones in a quiet room, start at 8 kHz, and work upward. Play each tone once, mark heard or not heard, and let the page build your map. Your last map is saved in this browser only.
Is this a mosquito-tone or hearing-age test?
It uses the same frequency range people associate with mosquito tones, but it frames results as informational screening only, with no age claims and no diagnosis. For a dedicated mosquito-tone page with safety framing, see the related tools.
Is this safe for my hearing?
Start at a low volume. Every tone starts only from a button you press, a persistent Stop and Mute are always available, and levels are reported in dBFS, relative to full scale, never in SPL. Stop immediately if a tone feels sharp or uncomfortable.