Last time i went, the highest they tested was 10k. One ear was fine, the one with the eardrum i broke during a blown 1 1/2 gainer with a twist had a notch at 8k.
dave
Yes, using a function generator and headphones.
Listening at very low volume, frequencies above around 3.8 to 4Khz sound identical when changing generator from sine to square to triangle. Below that and the harmonics begin to appear and at around 3.5K or lower and the difference between triangle and square becomes obvious.
With the volume "low" (and it is very low... think 4 or 5 on a scale of say 0 to 30) I hear to around 10K+ as the frequency is swept up. To hear above 10K needs the amplitude raising progressively but it seems to follow a normal curve to around 13.5K where it starts to roll off. To "hear" beyond this needs the level raising significantly. Perhaps as much as 40 or 50 db compared to the LF range.
Age... 50yr
The British National Health Service, which for all our grumbling about governments messing it up by putting more & more managers in at the expense of clinical staff remains one of our nation's greatest achievements, would disagree since they point people to more or less identical on-line tests from sites such as Action on Hearing Loss. They even offer free basic speech BW tests conducted over the telephone. Frequently, audiologists primary concern is the aforementioned speech BW, for obvious reasons, with less interest in the limits. However, you're perfectly correct in that, assuming the tones are accurately generated, you are at the mercy of the equipment used to reproduce them, which much of the time (laptop speakers, mediocre headphones etc.) isn't up to much & may well give a misleading result. Unlikely to give one on the positive side, short of massive gain peaking at certain frequencies, but nevertheless. They're usually OK for a quick check & an approximate idea, but they're certainly not lab. quality.
More so than doing it yourself, or it should be, but there are some big caveats, since they frequently don't test above x KHz (about 14 is common TTBOMK), and some of the gear I've seen used is not in the best of condition.
Going to an audiologist in this country means being the subject of a single blind test. The mind is good at fooling you into thinking you are hearing something when you are in fact not hearing anything.
Likewise here, and indeed it can. However, there does become a point when we're not talking fractions (which is where the greatest amount of brain trickery occurs, be it in sight, sound or many other factors) but something rather more substantial, which reduces, though admittedly does not eliminate, the chances of this occuring.
To use the current example, the last time I checked my HF hearing through something that I know was measureably flat to >20KHz, it was effectively blind, since I wasn't controlling the sig. gen., frequency, nor was appraised of the timing, although I confess there wasn't an NHS doctor and panel of inquisitors present. 18KHz was no problem. Above, faint, but still there. A couple of years back, I was still OK for near 21KHz. The march of time I fear.
This test has a very limited value - to me at least - 1 thing I notice is that when I am in a room with multiple people speaking at the same time it's getting harder to filter 1 of them out of the background noise. Surely this is because of some damage to my hearing that does not show up with a single tone test.
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Not just 'cos it's the wife?
This test has a very limited value - to me at least - 1 thing I notice is that when I am in a room with multiple people speaking at the same time it's getting harder to filter 1 of them out of the background noise. Surely this is because of some damage to my hearing that does not show up with a single tone test.
My ears feel blocked sometimes (catarrh?) and that happens to me then. Not the wife thing!
Not just 'cos it's the wife?
My ears feel blocked sometimes (catarrh?) and that happens to me then. Not the wife thing!
I'm also having trouble sometimes hearing people because of background noise, and I'm only 17. I have no idea why, but sometimes it's just incredibly difficult to hear what a person is saying.
This test is about very high frequencies.
This test has a very limited value - to me at least - 1 thing I notice is that when I am in a room with multiple people speaking at the same time it's getting harder to filter 1 of them out of the background noise. Surely this is because of some damage to my hearing that does not show up with a single tone test.
Your problem lies in the 3-4kHz range.
I think there could be several reasons for this. as Dirk suggested. it could be a problem hearing the midrange frequencies. Even if only one ear has a problem, that will mess up your stereo hearing and make it harder to localize voices in a room.
This test has a very limited value - to me at least - 1 thing I notice is that when I am in a room with multiple people speaking at the same time it's getting harder to filter 1 of them out of the background noise. Surely this is because of some damage to my hearing that does not show up with a single tone test.
Does anyone know of a binaural recording of several people speaking? That would be interesting listening for headphones, first in mono, trying to hear what each person is saying, then in stereo/binaural.
I've had the occasional time when someone will say something behind my back, when it's been quiet and I'm not expecting anyone to speak, and it sounds to me like a bunch of gobbledygook syllables. I suppose this can happen to anyone, but my mother was an incessant talker and I think it may have emotionally "burned out" some form of being able to pay attention.
I read about 15 years ago on rec.audio.pro that most Americans (who, most of the time, drive on the right side of the road) have greater hearing loss in their left ear than in their right, due to having the left window open during driving. Ever since then I've opened only the RIGHT window to compensate.
Have you spent much time listening through headphones, earbuds or in-ear monitors? Even a lot of the cheap ones can go to very loud volume (louder than you might think it's going) and still give a clean sound.
Playing in or hanging around loud rock bands can have a negative effect as well. I did that a lot in my 20s, and am a little surprised my hearing's not worse than it is.
Indeed, to the frustration of many audiophiles and recording engineers, audiologists generally only test up to 4 or 8kHz, as that's the highest frequency (supposedly) needed to clearly understand speech (though I suspect being able to clearly hear sibilants helps in understanding)
Yeah, as you said when somebody talks to me and I'm not expecting it I usally only hear blablabla and have to ask them to repeat. But if I know a person is going to talk to me it's way easier to hear.
I've been to some concerts but always wear ear buds for protection. Never using earphones, but I'm frequently using headphones with my computer but not to extreme levels.
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