Ever Measured the frequency response of your ears?

[kapvin]

Amusing title, but seriously, has anyone done this?

It's not too difficult.. what you need is a hifi system, an spl meter and a pc / laptop connected to the hifi + a sinewave generator software (freeware - nchtone).

do it at a higher spl level since fletcher-munson contours skew the results at lower levels - i chose 95db but 100db is where hearing is supposed to be relatively flat. adjust the volume control to get that 95db(or whatever ref level you set) for each frequency - I checked at 1/3 octaves for the upper region and at 2hz intervals for bass. Subjectively see where you find sound becoming softer

I did this a few years ago.. and the results were revealing

left ear -- 30hz to 12khz - could hear anything after 15khz.
right year -- 28hz to 13khz - could not hear anything after 16khz.
20hz-28hz was more "feeling" than hearing.

my wife did better.. she lasted till 18khz.
and oh.. this was as "on axis" as it gets.. with the ear directly pointing at the tweeter

I know this is not necessarily fully scientific.. but net net.. there's almost an octave of hearing gone. I blame it on asthma, my wife blames it (probably more correctly) on years of listening to loud music.. well

it's interesting how we chase frequency response especially in the upper octaves.. when our own hearing may not be matching the capability of the speakers..

would be thrilled if someone else also tried and shared their results

 

[spirovious]

Did you visit ENT specialist?

 

[kapvin]

yup.. it's not deafness - It's just degradation of HF response (like an aging tweeter ).. and what's gone is gone..

cheers

 

[spirovious]

Well I can guess,
After so many years,vibrating eardrum may have burned in a lot.
Just like many new spk,which sounds bright out of the box & after a time they become sweat.Why not same with eardrum?

 

[deba]

I have used the tone generator of Adobe Audition to do my testing and I can hear from 30 Hz to 18Khz.....)

 

[kapvin]

there was recently couple of posts in one of the threads here on HFV on this subject. Yes, your ear measurements are fully acceptable!

Tried to hunt that tread but here it is --> http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/8335-why-aversion-towards-speakers-bass.html

gets interesting page 3 onwards!

Cheers!

thank you for pointing this out..i had seen the thread, but dropped out before the really interesting posts.

regarding post # 24 by SBG in that thread.

1. the actual response of the ear is the mirror of that curve.

2. the response, will vary not just according to amp / headphones but also according to volume.. ideal human ear response is flat at 100db (100db= 100phon across frequencies) but dips in the treble / bass region by increasing amounts as the volume reduces (fletcher munson contours)

cheers

 

[arj]

i think it is medically proven that after 30 years ones hearing "rolls off" the higher frequency and most men hear only 12-15 khz after 35 while women are usually at around 18khz.
Funnily one of the serious record shops in UK had a sound generator at 19khz . most of the teenagers would not go anywhere near that place as they we almost in pain while most middle aged folks were shopping oblivious to the whole thing

 

[kapvin]

i think it is medically proven that after 30 years ones hearing "rolls off" the higher frequency and most men hear only 12-15 khz after 35 while women are usually at around 18khz.
Funnily one of the serious record shops in UK had a sound generator at 19khz . most of the teenagers would not go anywhere near that place as they we almost in pain while most middle aged folks were shopping oblivious to the whole thing

Dear Arj,

for the first part, thanks for info, it was just the reassurance I needed!! i was around 35 when i did this test. So it's age, not loud music that's caused this... now where is that Volume control??

:clapping:your record store story reminds me of ultrasonic pest repellents that were popular a few years ago!

stay cool

ps - this stil does not explain how my wife could hear 18khz..unless she was bluffing

 

[arj]

ps - this stil does not explain how my wife could hear 18khz..unless she was bluffing

: I though i had mentioned that medically women do hear higher frequencies much better than men...
But what I cannot explain is why most of the audiophiles are men.. maybe they are more sensible too :lol:

 

[spirovious]

They can hear Low freq better, like warmth.

 

[IndianEars]

Since women's voices have more High Freq content, and their ears can hear more HF, seems to me that natures wants women to hear more of their own clan, and men to turn a deaf ear ?

 

[IndianEars]

While we audiophiles clean the contacts on our system regularly, any of us gets Our Ears Cleaned Routinely, to hear more of the music ???

 

[IndianEars]

Any easy way to know your approx HF upper limit of hearing, simply listen to the (EHT) squeal that is emitted by all CRT based TV sets.

The EHT Oscillator operates around 15.75 KHz, and is quite loud up a couple of feet away from the TV set. The squeal is On for as long as the TV is on, irrespective of the volume control and the TV channel selected.

 

[kapvin]

Any easy way to know your approx HF upper limit of hearing, simply listen to the (EHT) squeal that is emitted by all CRT based TV sets.

The EHT Oscillator operates around 15.75 KHz, and is quite loud up a couple of feet away from the TV set. The squeal is On for as long as the TV is on, irrespective of the volume control and the TV channel selected.

CRT TV? what's that?

just kidding..; but seriously, no one I know, has heard of, or complained about that (Are you sure it's at 15.75khz?).. similarly, no one I know has heard the FM mpx noise at 19khz.. but if you've been into Hi Fi long enough, you'll remember the mpx filter on your 3 head decks!

cheers!

 

[deba]

Since women's voices have more High Freq content, and their ears can hear more HF, seems to me that natures wants women to hear more of their own clan, and men to turn a deaf ear ?

I would prefer to remain complete deaf then to hear women emitting HF at me........)

 

[santhosh]

Friends, today I went to my office's basement car parking to checking out my colleague's PLAYON HD Player. We heard some loud noise coming from an open door and saw that it was the Generator Room. Since this room is usually closed and we would not hear much noise, I was interested in seeing the sound-proofing treatment done here. We entered it to only see that it was huge with several generators housed in it. The noise that was being produced was deafening to say the least. My guesstimate of the SPL was 100dB and I quickly confirmed with my Iphone's SPL Meter app that we are talking a whopping 120+ dB here. As we looked around, we were shocked to see a technician sitting there on a chair as it is his job was to look after the generators.

I would like to understand the shortterm and long term impacts this occupational hazard will have on him. Please share your thoughts.

Here is a pic that my colleague shot from his phone. We missed getting a picture of him though.

 

[Kamal]

Exposed to 120db continuously like that, he'll lose his hearing very fast & then his sanity.
Its criminal of his employers not to take precautions to protect his health-this shld be mandatory.

 

[sqvare]

just kidding..; but seriously, no one I know, has heard of, or complained about that (Are you sure it's at 15.75khz?)..

My sister had a 29" CRT in her bedroom. My 27-year-old niece was sitting about 8 feet away and casually mentioned that the TV always emitted a high buzzing squeal when on. My sister (55) and I (45) were standing right next to the TV and when we listened could hear a low buzz, but no squeal.

I'd tested my frequency range a few months previously, using NCHtone on an HP laptop with Apple iPod earbuds, and my hearing crapped out around 15Khz (I'd had to raise the gain to hear after 14KHz, but after 15, nothing.)

Then I told them the same story that ARJ mentioned, about the UK shopkeeper guy who got a local professor to build him the tone generator to get rid of loitering teenagers drinking & smoking & bugging customers outside his shop.

 

[spirovious]

Get these SW to test @ home-

Download Home Audiometer Hearing Test 2.01 Free trial - Home Audiometer Hearing Test Software for Win
Software Download: Audiometer Hearing Test Deaf Ear

 

[sqvare]

Some stuff I found...

Long term effects:
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Short term exposure:
Accepted standards for recommended permissible exposure time for continuous time weighted average noise, according to NIOSH and CDC, 2002.
For every 3 dBs over 85dB, the permissible exposure time before possible damage can occur is cut in half.
85 db: 8 hours
88 dB: 4 hours
91 db: 2 hours
94 db: 1 hour
97 db: 30 min
100 db: 15 min
103 db: 7.5 min
106 dB: < 4 min
109 dB: < 2 min
112 dB: < 1 min
115 dB: < 30 sec

Maximum permitted exposure in a day, as per US OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) guidelines:
Noise Levels