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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?
sabai
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,701 posts
 
The audiocheck site has limited FR and, in that way, does seem closer to what an audiologist actually does.

Expectation bias can be eliminated and I did that by copying and randomizing the tracks from the Audio-CD disc. So far, that is the best available to the layman with limited instrumentation.

Kal

audiosampling
2 posts
 
Nonoise, as you are referring to blind tests, there is a nice one on the very same subject here:

http://www.audiocheck.net/blindtests_frequency.php

It tests your upper hearing limit, from 10kHz to 20kHz (last octave of our hearing range... the one we need as audiophiles).

I am 42 and could pass the 16kHz with much of an effort, 17kHz failed.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,971 posts
 
Audiosampling,

I scored great up to 13Khz and then all bets were off. I could, however, detect down to 1db difference with 100% accuracy and down to a 10c pitch difference with 100% accuracy as well. I guess somethings work and make up for others that don't.

Could it be that a change in timbre or tone can lead one to figure out the rest aided with memory? Or is it that what we think are frequencies from the tweeter are just the higher limits of the midrange driver?

They say that most of what we hear is in the midrange.
Thanks for the site. If was fun to have as blind a test as possible without going to a doc.

All the best,
Nonoise
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,701 posts
 
I apologize for saying that the audiocheck site had limited FR. I didn't see that the extended ranges were on other pages.

Still, knowing the frequency and level when being a subject is a bias. Better to have someone else administer the test to you.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
I can't speak to the online tests, but to answer part of your question, some people's hearing can get more sensitive to high frequency at a certain age.
Due to high frequencies starting to bother me, I saw an ENT and an Audiologist recently and I can still hear 19 kHZ tone...no hearing loss at age 55. My mother is 85 and her hearing has become more sensitive over the last few years. If you're concerned, you should get a proper hearing test.
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