High End Audio and Your hearing as you get older

Wow, now I'm going to sell all my equipment as I "can't" hear anything from 14Khz on up. But there is more to test signals than that. There has to be. I can hear instruments that play at higher frequencies on a regular basis but can't hear the friggin test tones. What's weird is that even on a low setting, the 8Khz test tone hurt my ears while the 12 Khz test tone was soft and really nothing beyond that.
I know this opens a huge can of worms but this goes a long way against the argument that only what can be measured is the sole criteria. So many flat earthers stick to their measurements with a fanaticism that borders on religion and yet I can hear things that I shouldn't.

Ballan,

Thanks for the TED link to Evelyn Genie. I hope to meet her one day - inspiring. I noticed they have a video with Benjamin Zander speaking about passion. Having met Benjamin several years ago I am sure that is well worth watching too.

Nonoise, are your sure?

Unsound,
I stand corrected. And humbly so. A quick look at some graphs clearly shows that only the pipe organ can play a fundamental frequency to about 15Khz!
Everything else barely hits 5Khz. But it's the harmonics that can extend things to beyond 16Khz. In music they always will since no one plays only test tones. Considering that, was I so far off or am I missing something?

Sorry guys, from studies I've seen males begin loosing higher frequency perception by our mid-twenties. This happens to females too but not as early. The thing is we are all different so we do not lose it at the same rate.

I'm 68 and have worn hearing aids for eight years. Even with those I can't hear above 8K Hz. Does that mean I've lost my interest and pleasure in listening to music? Not a bit. Does it mean I've had to make adjustments? Absolutely.

I certainly miss the overtones of bells and cymbals. There was a time that I could identify how many different cymbals were being played by a jazz drummer in a good recording but no longer. There was a time when I identified between two CD players while blindfolded five our of five. I doubt I could do that today. I can accept those limitations because I still find enjoyment listening to music I love.

Concerning equipment, this has made me a little more sensitive to brightness and harshness. It may be surprising given my high frequency hearing loss but flutes, trumpets, violins, etc. can be uncomfortable to listen to if the system distorts them at all. But I have a reference in continuing to attend live music concerts where these instruments do not bother me as much.

Just take a tip from Ms. Glennie, try listening with your whole person.