A major factor in the validity of on line hearing tests is the speakers used in the test. The speakers should have a perfectly flat response.
Hearing Tests
I am wondering about the accuracy of online hearing tests. As we get older our ability to hear high frequency sounds is supposed to gradually decline. I imagine this is true for the vast majority of people. But my mother was nearly 100 when she passed away and her hearing was so acute that the nurses in the hospital were dumbfounded when my mother recounted the content of a conversation nearly-whispered between two nurses in the next room.
Since I am well into my 60s now I was concerned whether I have lost a significant amount of my hearing capacity. It seems to me that I can still hear the finest nuances from my system but you don't know what you are not hearing. But since I have always protected my ears from loud sounds of any kind I thought that maybe I could dodge the bullet. So, I took 3 online hearing tests and they came out just about smack on with the same results, which I was happy to see. The results said I have excellent hearing.
Here are the links to the 3 tests I used to test my hearing:
http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/
http://www.talkclassical.com/17309-extreme-frequencies-hearing-test.html
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html
Of course, online tests are not the same as having your hearing tested in a doctor's office. But do they have validity? And, if so, to what extent are they valid? I wish I could find the recent Audiogon thread where someone stated with authority that no one over a certain age (I can't remember the age mentioned) can actually hear above a frequency of 10,000 or 12,000 Hertz (I cannot remember which frequency was quoted).
Do you have any experience with hearing change as we get older and with the validity of hearing tests?
Since I am well into my 60s now I was concerned whether I have lost a significant amount of my hearing capacity. It seems to me that I can still hear the finest nuances from my system but you don't know what you are not hearing. But since I have always protected my ears from loud sounds of any kind I thought that maybe I could dodge the bullet. So, I took 3 online hearing tests and they came out just about smack on with the same results, which I was happy to see. The results said I have excellent hearing.
Here are the links to the 3 tests I used to test my hearing:
http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/can-you-hear-this-hearing-test/
http://www.talkclassical.com/17309-extreme-frequencies-hearing-test.html
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html
Of course, online tests are not the same as having your hearing tested in a doctor's office. But do they have validity? And, if so, to what extent are they valid? I wish I could find the recent Audiogon thread where someone stated with authority that no one over a certain age (I can't remember the age mentioned) can actually hear above a frequency of 10,000 or 12,000 Hertz (I cannot remember which frequency was quoted).
Do you have any experience with hearing change as we get older and with the validity of hearing tests?
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- 24 posts total
Actually, using speakers is not a generally good method unless you are working in an anechoic chamber. The best one can do domestically is to use sealed headphones and, even then, one needs a very quiet environment. I have used sealed, calibrated Sennheisers for such tests but found that my Manhattan apartment or office was too noisy except in the dead of night. Testing in my CT house demonstrated a more than 20dB lower noise threshold and resulted in better sensitivity curves. My testing was/is done with Audio-CD software. See: http://www.digital-recordings.com/audiocd/audio.html http://www.stereophile.com/reference/100digital/index.html |
With all things turned off (as best I can), through my Shure SRH-940s and my Centrance DACmini, I could hear up to around 14.3Khz at www.phys.com At the talkclassical site, the graph shows my hearing topping out here: 12 Khz @-24db 8Khz @-69db 6Khz@-78db 4Khz@-76db 3Khz@-69Khz 2Khz@-86Khz 1.5KHZ2-90db 1Khz@-86db and it goes up relatively diagonally to 90Hz and then jumps 2-3db on down to 30Khz. I know this is nowhere definitive but not bad for a set of 58 year old ears under not at all ideal circumstances. One must remember that these are nothing more than test tones and are not representative of actual music. From whatever point you approach it, the highest range of an instrument goes to the piccolo which doesn't even reach 5kKhz, beating out the harp and violin, and the lowest goes to the contrabassoon which gets down to 26Khz, beating out the harp (again), bass and cello. I don't care what your age is but it's a pretty good bet that even at my ripe old age of 58 I'm stilling hearing all there is to hear. Yes, there are overtones, ambience, etc. but if it's there, and it adds to the musical enjoyment, I'm still able to appreciate it. All the best, Nonoise |
- 24 posts total