My Hearing limited to about 16khz, is this unusual?

[oxcartdriver]

Using a test CD I find my hearing tops out about 16khz. I don't hear much of a 16khz tone, but I can tell it is there. Higher tones I can't even sense the speaker is playing anything. Is this unusual for a 40yr old?

I tested with the modula MTM, TMWW tower, and a mid sized pair of magneplanars.

I wear hearing protection doing almost every activity now, motorcycle, vacuum cleaner, saws, mowing the lawn, skeet/trap, even road trips in my noisy car.

When I was younger I wasn't so careful.

[peterS]

probably good for your age...

[oxcartdriver]

thank you, on a log scale 16k isn't to far from 20khz.

[joecarrow]

That's not too bad, the difference between 16 khz and 20 khz isn't as much as it sounds. I don't think you'll notice trouble understanding speech until your ceiling is down below 10 khz or so.

I haven't been tested in ages, but when I was 21 I experimented with a good sound card and a Morel MDT 20 speaker and I found that I could hear fairly well up to a little over 17 khz, then there was a gap around 17 or 18 khz, then I could hear a little bit again up above 19 khz. It's really hard to tell how valid that was since the first time I tried it was with a really cheap sound card, and I could clearly hear the distortion products in a sine sweep.

I wouldn't be surprised if you can only hear up to 16 khz, but anything in the signal chain could be limiting the high frequency output. The Dayton Reference RS28A is down 5 db by 15 khz, so that could be a factor. Magneplanar speakers have larger radiating areas, so I would expect their highest frequencies to be limited and very directional. I don't think you're missing much- do you?

[oxcartdriver]

I don't think I'm missing much. Its just that the standard typically used is up to 20khz. My ability to hear faint sounds seems quite good compared to other people. I just wanted to check other's opinions.

[kgveteran]

After running some test tones while in the middle of a build, I found my hearing is at about 14khz. It took me by surprise , but what is, is .

[Kal Rubinson]

Even those with youthful full range hearing from 20-20k have much lower sensitivity at the extremes. Those sensitivities increase with age and environmental exposure. However, difficulty with speech does not occur until the sensitivities in the range below 10KHz is highly elevated. See http://www.digital-recordings.com/ for info and test materials. See my review here: http://stereophile.com/reference/100digital/

Kal

[Hdale85]

Well according to that test I can hear all the way up to 20khz

[Kal Rubinson]

Well according to that test I can hear all the way up to 20khz

At normal sensitivity? Congratulations.

Kal

[Hdale85]

Yeah I guess. Not sure how acurate it is. I've been listening to music very loud my entire life, seems like I should have lost something. And yes it was at normal sensativity. I couldnt heart 10hz though but I think thats mostly my headphones.

[Bent]

mY employer rquires our hearing to be tested every year.

My hearing is what "they" call perfect - 0 dB down on all test frequencies.
They've seldom gotten such great results from any test subjects.

That being said, I've checked mine out with the test equipment myself ( a friend is an audiologist, and my hearing goes flat at about 16.5 kHz).

Like KG said, it is what it is.

[Kal Rubinson]

That being said, I've checked mine out with the test equipment myself ( a friend is an audiologist, and my hearing goes flat at about 16.5 kHz).
Like KG said, it is what it is.

I really doubt that. No one is "flat" to 15 or 20KHz. What you would be lucky to have is the roll-off that is typical of a normal non-urban adolescent, about -24dB at 16KHz. If you have the same sensitivity at 15.7KHz as at 1KHz, you would be in lots of pain in any room with a TV and in many other situations!

Kal

[Bent]

HAha, by flat, I meant it falls on it's face at about 16.5 kHz.
I can't hear a peep past that, at least on his equipment.

[Scott Simonian]

If you have the same sensitivity at 15.7KHz as at 1KHz, you would be in lots of pain in any room with a TV and in many other situations!

Hmph. In that case...I have pretty good hearing because "crt crackle" stands out a bit much sometimes...

Maybe my hearing is more sensitive at night?

[Kal Rubinson]

Hmph. In that case...I have pretty good hearing because "crt crackle" stands out a bit much sometimes...

Maybe my hearing is more sensitive at night?

Usually, there's less background noise at night which helps all of us hear low level sounds.

Kal

[knifeinthesink]

I'm 37 and I cant hear past 14.5khz. I asked an ear, nose, throat doctor how that was and he said it was quite good for my age.

[Kal Rubinson]

I'm 37 and I cant hear past 14.5khz. I asked an ear, nose, throat doctor how that was and he said it was quite good for my age.

It is OK. Some do better, some worse.

Kal

[Undefinition]

Back in college, when I took audio engineering, I remember our teacher played some test tones on the control room speakers. All of us hotheads were humbled a bit to find out we really couldn't hear above 17.5 KHz.

A few weeks ago, I started toying with this again. I tried playing some test tones out of a Sound Blaster, a Digidesign 001, and an M Audio Audiophile... same results--if not a bit of loss over the years :-s
Not one to trust just one output source, I used a set of Alesis biamped studio monitors, some antique Cerwin Vegas, and a pair of AKG studio headphones.

Just to see if I was crazy, I had my girlfriend try it too. When we got up to the teens, she kept yelling, "ouch!" and throwing the headphones. But I wasn't buying it. So I began starting the test tones, THEN handing her the headphones. From that point on, she kept saying, "Has it started yet?"

The conclusion: two young adults near age 30 peak out around 17 KHz.

I believe the scientific consensus is that, as infants, we can only hear a narrow range. This expands as we grow into puberty. Then, after our teenage years, the range begins shrinking again.

For isntance, the retail world has created an "alarm" called the mosquito which only teens can hear (in an effort to keep loitering teens away)

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=16342508&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=-alarm--makes-teens-buzz-off--name_page.html

Teenagers then "took back the power" and made a ringtone that adults CANNOT hear

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=14031&in_page_id=2

[Mazeroth]

My employer also mandates hearing tests. I'm 26 and still have my hearing out to 20khz. I've tested it at home and can hear it here as well.

I feel very fortunate :amen:

[jdybnis]

A coworker of mine has kids that could hear at least out to 25kHz when they were little. He discovered this at a museum exhibit on hearing. His hearing still goes to 20kHz and he's pushing 60.

My hearing drops like a rock around 16kHz. I'm 28 and I take care of my ears.