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15000 Hz Tone - The Age Line

Listen to a pure 15 kHz tone - or find out that you can't. Most people under 40 hear it clearly; past 40 it starts slipping away. If you remember the whine of old CRT televisions, this is (almost) that sound.

15000Hz
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The 15 kHz dividing line

High-frequency hearing declines with age on a remarkably predictable schedule (presbycusis), and 15 kHz sits near the crossover point of middle age: typical 20-year-olds hear it easily, typical 50-year-olds do not. Hearing or not hearing this tone is one data point on that curve - step through the full ladder with the hearing age test to find your exact ceiling.

The nostalgic reference: CRT televisions emitted a constant whine at 15.734 kHz (the horizontal scan frequency), which children heard from across the house and adults famously denied existed. If you grew up knowing a TV was on in another room without seeing it, this tone is your madeleine - and whether you still hear it answers how much has changed.

Hardware honesty above 15 kHz

Up here, your playback chain is as much under test as your ears. Many laptop speakers and cheap earbuds roll off steeply above 14-16 kHz, and Bluetooth codecs at low bitrates shave the top octave. If this page is silent, try wired headphones at moderate volume before concluding anything about your hearing.

Keep the volume modest even if you hear nothing: the tone is still there at full energy, and tweeters (and any nearby young ears or pets) receive it whether or not you perceive it.

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15000 Hz FAQ

Who can hear 15000 Hz?

Most people under about 40 with typical hearing, at reasonable volume on capable equipment. By the 50s, most cannot - the hair cells tuned to the highest frequencies wear out first and do not regenerate. Noise exposure history moves the line earlier; careful listening habits preserve it.

What was the TV noise adults couldn't hear?

CRT televisions' horizontal deflection circuit oscillated at 15.734 kHz and physically vibrated at that frequency - a constant high whine. Children and teenagers heard it clearly; most adults over 40-50 could not, making it an accidental nationwide hearing-age test for the pre-flatscreen decades.

I can't hear it - is my hearing bad?

Not necessarily. First suspect hardware: many speakers and earbuds barely reproduce 15 kHz. Test with good wired headphones. If it is genuinely inaudible there, that is normal aging for anyone middle-aged and older, and it costs essentially nothing musically - almost no musical content lives above 15 kHz except air and shimmer.

Is 15 kHz dangerous to play?

No more than any tone at the same level - but with a twist: if you cannot hear it, you cannot judge its loudness, so keep system volume moderate rather than cranking it "to hear something." Others in the room (and dogs and cats) may be hearing it at full force.

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