How old are YOUR ears? 30-second hearing age check can tell if you're losing ... trends now
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Want to know if you've got early signs of hearing loss?
Well, now you can — thanks to a simple 30-second test.
The test, created by hearing health app eargym, asks you to hit the pause button when you can no longer hear the tone playing in the background.
The frequency of the tone users can hear (measured in Hertz) is used to estimate the user’s hearing age because as we get older the harder it is for our ears to hear higher frequencies.
Most humans start off being able to hear sounds up to 20,000 Hz.
This almost halves to 11,500 Hz when you hit your 40s and drops even further (8,000 Hz) for adults in their 60s, according to a 2021 study published in the Journal of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery.
In a recent analysis of the results of an app-based version of this test, eargym found that almost half (47 per cent) of 16-35 year old's have a hearing age that is older than their biological age.
Of the 16-35 year old's who had an older hearing age, the average age difference between their hearing age and their biological age was 13 years.
Around 12 million people in the UK are affected by hearing loss. It is associated with social isolation and cognitive decline; and is one of the biggest modifiable risk factors when it comes to developing dementia
Andy Shanks, hearing health expert and co-founder at eargym, said: 'The majority of us will experience some form of hearing loss in our lifetimes.
'But if we can spot the signs early and make some small changes, we can take steps to protect our hearing and prevent future avoidable hearing loss.'
