15,000 Hz tone
The age threshold starts here.
Volume first. Turn your device volume down before pressing play, then raise it slowly. Tones start quiet on purpose. High-frequency tones can seem silent and then turn painfully loud when volume goes up. Never raise the volume just because you hear nothing.
What 15,000 Hz is used for
Hearing above 15 kHz fades for many people from their 30s onward. It is also near the old CRT television whine of 15.7 kHz.
| Period | 66.7 µs |
|---|---|
| Wavelength in air (20 °C) | 2.3 cm |
| One octave down / up | 7500 Hz / 30000 Hz |
The generator above starts at 15,000 Hz. You can still move the slider to any other frequency, or open the full tone generator.
Questions people ask
Why can't I hear the 15,000 Hz tone?
Hearing above 15 kHz fades with age for most people, and many phone speakers, earbuds and Bluetooth codecs cannot reproduce it at all. Silence here does not prove anything about your ears. Do not turn the volume up hard to find it.
How long is one cycle of 15,000 Hz?
66.7 microseconds. In room-temperature air the wavelength is about 2.3 centimetres.
Keep testing
- Tone generatorSine, square, triangle and sawtooth from 1 Hz to 22 kHz.
- Frequency sweepLogarithmic or linear sweeps over any range and duration.
- Hearing age testFind the highest frequency you can still hear.