Free tool
Online Hearing Test
A free, self-administered tone check, ear by ear. Runs entirely in your browser: nothing is uploaded and nothing reaches us. Your last result is kept on this device so you can come back to it. Not a diagnosis; see sudden sensorineural hearing loss if your hearing changed suddenly, is one-sided, or came with pain, pressure, or dizziness.
This checks whether a fixed set of standard tones — the same frequencies audiologists use in a real audiogram — are audible to each ear at one comfortable volume. It takes about 3–4 minutes. Headphones required (tones are panned left/right ear by ear — it won't work meaningfully through a single speaker).
What is an online hearing test?
A pure-tone screening you take yourself, through headphones, that checks whether you can hear a series of quiet tones at different pitches — the same basic principle as a clinical audiogram, just self-administered rather than performed by a trained audiologist with calibrated equipment.
How does it work, and how accurate is it really?
A study from Karolinska University Hospital found an internet-based hearing test correlated strongly with clinical audiogram results (r = 0.93–0.94), with 75% sensitivity and 96% specificity for detecting hearing loss. A more recent validation study of a self-administered online hearing test found 83% sensitivity, 94% specificity, with estimated thresholds averaging within 2–12 dB of real clinical measurements.
Honest summary: this kind of test reliably catches most significant hearing loss and rarely false-alarms on normal hearing, but it isn't a precise replacement for calibrated clinical equipment — accuracy depends meaningfully on your headphones and how quiet your room is.
What frequencies are tested?
Standard pure-tone tests span roughly 250 Hz to 8,000 Hz. This tool checks eight frequencies across that range — 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 6,000, and 8,000 Hz — the same set clinical audiometry uses for air-conduction testing, presented to each ear separately.
What do the results mean?
Consistently hearing quiet tones across most frequencies is reassuring, not a diagnosis of normal hearing. Missing tones at specific frequencies — especially higher ones — is worth a real audiogram, not self-diagnosis. A difference between your two ears is worth particular attention: it's one of the few patterns from a check like this worth not waiting on.
Online test vs. a clinical audiogram
A clinical audiogram happens in a sound-treated booth, with calibrated headphones and a trained audiologist controlling every variable. An online test trades that precision for being free, immediate, and private — a first signal worth acting on, not a diagnostic replacement for it.
Hearing loss and tinnitus
The two are closely linked mechanistically — see tinnitus and hearing loss: the connection explained for why. If you have both, that's worth bringing to an audiologist as one conversation, not two separate things.
When should you see an audiologist?
Sudden hearing changes, hearing loss in one ear only, hearing loss with dizziness, or any hearing concern affecting daily life — see a professional regardless of what this test shows.
FAQ
Is this as accurate as a real hearing test?
No — it's a useful screening tool, not a replacement. Studies of similar online hearing tests found 75–83% sensitivity and 94–96% specificity compared with clinical audiograms: they catch most significant hearing loss and rarely false-alarm on normal hearing, but they aren't a precise substitute for calibrated clinical equipment.
What do I need to take it?
Headphones, not speakers, and a quiet room — background noise and speaker playback both distort the result.
Can this diagnose hearing loss?
No. Only a clinical audiogram, performed by an audiologist with calibrated equipment, can diagnose hearing loss.
- Evaluation of an Internet-Based Hearing Test. Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Development and Validation of a Self-Administered Online Hearing Test. PMC
Prefer a different kind of check?
This tool checks whether specific tones are audible. A digits-in-noise test checks something more like real-world hearing — understanding speech against background noise — using a method closer to what validated clinical screening tools use.