how high can you hear?

forge · Post by **forge** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 2:48 am

I scared the crap out of myself yesterday by playing with the test tone in the prefs and turning the freq all the way up to 20kHz then slowly down through the frequencies until I could hear it - it was somewhere between 14-15kHz before I could hear it!!

I saw some program recently where they were saying the powers that be were trialling some new technology that blasted high frequencies to keep young people from loitering because their ears could still hear the high frequencies

so how high can you hear?
Are my ears fucked? or is this normal for a 30-something?

I could feel it and it was making my ears feel funny (in headphones) but I couldnt actually hear the pitch until somewhere in the 14000s

lunabass · Post by **lunabass** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:05 am

i do this test on all of my students during my sound theory lectures using the signal generator in pro tools. most of the young-uns can hear up to around the 17.5k mark tops...i'm about 17k myself.

i had one older gent (about 50) do my course and his max was 14k! he was an old rock'n'roller and had been playing gigs all his life. this is how the dj's of today will end up unfortunately.

i recently got fitted up with some proper ear plugs and had a proper hearing test. the audiologist was surprised at how good my hearing was considering my occupation and age (37)

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:07 am

post yer age, good idea.

35 - no higher than 17.5kHz

also do not do this test on computer speakers or laptop headphones, they're not full bandwidth.

forge · Post by **forge** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:08 am

so how reliable do you think it was to do this with the Live test tone and Beyerdynamic DT-250 headphones? I tried on NS10s but figured that was probably not ideal

forge · Post by **forge** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:11 am

okay - I just tried it again on my NS10s and it was a bit better - but I had to have it louder up high than I would like for the lower freqs

I guess the real test would be to do it blind and not be the one adjusting it

sparklepuff · Post by **sparklepuff** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:13 am

27 - 18.5kHz

edit: Also had a friend adjust it for me so I wasn't looking.

Also, hurt like fuck. Not doing that again unless I need to.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:14 am

forge wrote:so how reliable do you think it was to do this with the Live test tone and Beyerdynamic DT-250 headphones? I tried on NS10s but figured that was probably not ideal

don't know those headphones, but you've been around the block, just saying to not do it on laptop speakers, which are horrible.

hey, if you don't want your NS10s, I'll pay for shipping.

forge · Post by **forge** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:19 am

sparklepuff wrote:27 - 18.5kHz

edit: Also had a friend adjust it for me so I wasn't looking.

how did you do it? speakers? cans?

I just tried with operator>fixed frequency and it seemed worse - tried panning and my left ear is the worst

gonna have to get this checked

I wonder how much allergies might effect it - I always have a lot of congestion

longjohns · Post by **longjohns** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:20 am

somewhere there was a nice little web app for doing this - a java applet or something.

gave you a +/- dB for each frequency...

it was on a thread maybe 9mos ago (?)

lunabass · Post by **lunabass** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:24 am

forge wrote:I guess the real test would be to do it blind and not be the one adjusting it

when i'm testing the students out i occasionally turn the test tone off without telling them and ask "can you still hear that frequency?" there's always 3 or 4 of them that say yes...suckers!

forge · Post by **forge** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:26 am

are you trying with the Live test tone?

I just tested my girlfriend and she first heard it at 15.9 which is where I first heard it today

I'm wondering if we just have the same damage or if there is something in Live's test tone

Jeroen · Post by **Jeroen** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:26 am

I think this test is dependent how high you are willing to put the volume. On low and moderate volume I loose it already at 12-13 kHz. But if you bump up the volume moderately I go to 14-15 kHz. This is on high quality headphones. But if I put volume full I probably will get to something higher .... oh yeah 40 years.

forge · Post by **forge** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:30 am

lunabass wrote:
forge wrote:I guess the real test would be to do it blind and not be the one adjusting it
when i'm testing the students out i occasionally turn the test tone off without telling them and ask "can you still hear that frequency?" there's always 3 or 4 of them that say yes...suckers!

yeah - i just tried my 6 year old fully expecting him to hear 20kHz and he didnt say anything until I got to about 15kHz - I guess it's not very scientific - and kids are hard to be exact with, half the time he could be talking about somethign completely different - didnt know what he was listening for either

I feel slightly better now

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:31 am

Jeroen wrote:I think this test is dependent how high you are willing to put the volume. On low and moderate volume I loose it already at 12-13 kHz. But if you bump up the volume moderately I go to 14-15 kHz. This is on high quality headphones. But if I put volume full I probably will get to something higher .... oh yeah 40 years.

there is a definite limit to your hearing and it degrades with age. it depends on volume because it rolls off as the frequency goes up. put it this way, you will not ever no way hear 22kHz even at 1,000dB, you'd feel it first as your eyelashes burst into flames.

lunabass - that's a great story!! then again, they have the ringtones that teachers can't hear.

OvertoneZero · Post by **OvertoneZero** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:31 am

I can hear around 18 khz on a set of really nice headphones, 29 years old.

forge: Custom molded musician's earplugs from an audiologist are a great investment. The sound is more natural than regular earplugs. Wear them whenever you are going to be exposed to loud sound...