Where is your upper limit?

[Eriksimon]

Where's your upper hearing limit?

For me the limit is 14 kHz. After that, silence. That is normal for my age (47).

Start the test somewhere around 4'22' and see how high you get.

Warning:
Set your volume to a low/safe level and adjust once to 'taste' when it's running. Don't turn it up to try and "achieve" better results...

Test removed. Ticket to Pacific Island booked.

[ski]

Funny, you can hear aliasing frequencies (sidebands) as it sweeps into the upper frequencies. So as far as hearing tests go, [buzzer sound!!!!!!!].

[Eriksimon]

you can hear aliasing frequencies (sidebands) as it sweeps into the upper frequencies.

Tell me what to listen for, it sounds "good" to me... mind you, I didn't listen to the first four minutes or so (it's a bit longish....)
and I assume aliasing is a nono because the tone has to be pure sine, right?

[David]

I doubt you can trust a YouTube video soundtrack to produce pure sinewaves above 14 kHz.

Also keep in mind there's no such thing as a true pure sine wave in nature, as a pure sine wave does not have a beginning or an end. Since us poor humans don't have the luxury of infinite time, we have to make that sine wave start and end somewhere, meaning where it starts and where it ends, it's not a sinewave, and that makes it much easier to hear it.

[analogika]

you can hear aliasing frequencies (sidebands) as it sweeps into the upper frequencies.

Tell me what to listen for, it sounds "good" to me... mind you, I didn't listen to the first four minutes or so (it's a bit longish....)
and I assume aliasing is a nono because the tone has to be pure sine, right?

Aliasing is going to be distortion - usually in the form of frequency "reflections" around Nyquist. So what you're hearing is WAY lower than the actual frequency.

Working with lossy audio for hearing tests is patently useless, as anything up near the limits of the hearing range, you're still going to be hearing - as artifacting, though, not the actual signal.

[Alan Shields]

I got similar results to Eric - I could hear a bit into the 14 kHz band but everything was long gone by the time it hit 15 kHz. I get similar results using Logic's Test Oscillator (gone by 14,450) but that moves in steps. I'm the same age as Eric and, lets face it, age is a factor in this so I was wondering just how much of our respective mixes we middle aged forum members are missing. Moreover, just how important is that upper half octave (or thereabouts)?

I do realise that neither the video or Test Oscillator are clinical tests but they do point to a deficiency in our upper range. Perhaps I'm starting to mistrust my ears.

Alan.

[Matt Mayfield]

I was wondering just how much of our respective mixes we middle aged forum members are missing. Moreover, just how important is that upper half octave (or thereabouts)?

I don't think a 14kHz upper limit is cause to ask anybody to turn in their engineer cards.

[Alan Shields]

Glad to hear it Matt. I'm aware that there is a lot of older engineers out there and was wondering if they had managed to hold onto those upper frequencies somehow. I'm also aware that a lot of playback systems will not handle those frequencies anyway.

Alan.

[shivermetimbers]

For me the limit is 14 kHz. After that, silence. That is normal for my age (47).

[lagerfeldt]

You can't use that YouTube video, so maybe your hearing is better than you think.

A 14 kHz dropoff would be a little too low to do mastering, but a 16-17 kHz dropoff wouldn't be a huge problem if you're experienced.

Using the bundled test oscillator in Logic Pro, my hearing drops off somewhere between 18 kHz and 19 kHz, and just above 19 kHz on a good day.

It actually varies depending on how much I've slept and other factors. I also hear better when it's not too hot, I don't know why. Perhaps something to do with the blood flow.

I'm 36 years old, but I read that age itself isn't a factor, which was the common belief until recently. Rather it's the accumulated damage over the years. So it's possible (in theory at least) to be quite old and have perfect hearing in the upper range of the frequency spectrum.

Or so I hope since I plan on doing mastering until they have to pry the outboard gear from my cold, dead hands.

[Andyreww]

I got to 15Khz, 15.5Khz in Test Oscillator - I guess years of playing with loud heavy equipment has taken its toll - proves I'm not a dog though!

[Eriksimon]

I'm 36 years old, but I read that age itself isn't a factor, which was the common belief until recently.

That's (interesting) news to me, but it wouldn't surprise me either... Do you have any links to these new insights? Or where did you come across this?

BTW I also just tried a sine sweep on the Test Oscillator, and it told me my upper limit is just under 16 kHz... Now I don't know what to believe anymore...

[shivermetimbers]

Believe the Audiologist if you really must know for certain.
People over 65 are the ones referred to with the hearing loss.

Toss a few commercial tunes into Logic and use the EQ analyzer and/or the Multimeter and see what the frequencies are.



http://hearingloss.sonus.com/do-i-need-hearing-aids-12-signs-of-hearing-loss-to-look-for/

[Eriksimon]

Believe the Audiologist if you really must know for certain.

I'm just fascinated with a process I am relatively new to: the slow decay towards the end (as perfectly summarized in your current avatar). On average, it is the biggest part of a lifetime...

People over 65 are the ones referred to with the hearing loss.

Well, not all. Half the people over 65, AND: "Research has shown that hearing deterioration tends to halt at around the age of 70. " Sort of good news for us junior-elderly...
http://www.deafnessresearch.org.uk/Age- ... s+1618.twl

As always, scientists tend to focus on disease or damage. Research into age related high pitch hearing loss in healthy people is much harder to find.

[lagerfeldt]

BTW I also just tried a sine sweep on the Test Oscillator, and it told me my upper limit is just under 16 kHz... Now I don't know what to believe anymore...

YouTube limits the frequency range to save storage space and to reduce bandwidth demands. That's why you can hear aliasing artifacts in the YouTube video.

Believe the test oscillator in Logic Pro then.

[Eriksimon]

BTW I also just tried a sine sweep on the Test Oscillator, and it told me my upper limit is just under 16 kHz... Now I don't know what to believe anymore...

YouTube limits the frequency range to save storage space and to reduce bandwidth demands. That's why you can hear aliasing artifacts in the YouTube video.

Believe the test oscillator in Logic Pro then.

Yes sir, I will.

[ski]

Actually, don't believe the test oscillator! If you want a hearing test, go to an audiologist (or otolaryngologist) who can administer a proper test (and you should request a "high frequency hearing test"). Just sitting at home listening to a test oscillator doesn't even come close to resembling any kind of scientific or diagnostic method for evaluating your ability to hear frequencies.

Trying to do a hearing test via somebody's (GAH!) YouTube video and drawing conclusions from that can have the same effect as reading the Merck Manual. Read enough entries and you'll think that you have every disease ever known. Except maybe leprosy, unless you suffer from shaving bumps. If so, I'd start to question whether or not you should be living on an island by yourself.

[Beer Moth]

Pardon?



Somebody say something?

[shivermetimbers]

Three old guys are out walking. First one says, "Windy, isn't it?" Second one says, "No, its Thursday!" Third one says, "So am I. Let's go get a beer."

A man was telling his neighbor, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect." "Really," answered the neighbor. "What kind is it?" "Twelve thirty."

Morris, an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical. A few days later the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm. A couple of days later the doctor spoke to Morris and said, "You're really doing great, aren't you?" Morris replied, "Just doing what you said, Doc: 'Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.'" The doctor said, "I didn't say that. I said, 'You've got a heart murmur. Be careful.'

An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%. The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again."
The gentleman replied, "Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!"

[Beer Moth]

You want to go to bed with Roy Hattersley???!!!