HOW good is your hearing for your age? This ear-splitting test claims to tell you just that.
An influencer recently went viral after sharing the audio experiment, which he says reveals your “hearing age”.
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In the short clip, which has racked up more than 3million views on TikTok, a loud, piercing tone plays.
The frequency of the sound increases over time, giving it the effect of getting gradually higher and louder.
As the frequency climbs, a number on screen winds down from 88 all the way to zero.
The influencer who posted the clip in May goes by Justin Agustin and says the test can reveal “how old your hearing is”.
The number at which you stop hearing the tone is the “age” of your ears, which you can compare with your real age.
The test is supposed to determine whether you have better or worse-than-average hearing for someone of your age.
As we get older, our hearing gets worse due to damage to the hair cells and nerves in the inner ear.
It means that we lose the ability to hear higher frequency noises over the years.
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The loss is more noticeable among those who have damaged their hearing, such as people who regularly listen to music too loud.
The loss of hearing as we age is relatively predictable, allowing for the creation of tests like the one shared to TikTok.
Sounds at 8,000 Hertz, for instance, should be easily heard by everyone with normal hearing.
Sounds above 12,000 Hz are tricky for people over 50 years of age to hear, while at 15,000 Hz, the over-40s are lost.
At a frequency of 17,400 Hz, only teenagers are able to hear a sound. Most people over the age of 18 cannot hear this tone.
In comments under Agustin’s post, users compared their scores – with plenty expressing some concern at their ratings.
One commenter wrote: “After 27 dead drop silence.”
Another said: “I hope this is not serious…I got 67…im 32.”
And a third anxiously mused: “Forty-six at 15y old.. uhm thats probably not good news.”
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
