How well do you hear?

[thecheapseats]

Would you all please stop mumbling and speak up?

yell at me louder please...

 

[SIY]

yell at me louder please...

Would someone answer the damn phone already?

 

[dualazmak]

So,,, this is one of the reasons why I have been intensively implementing "flexible and safe high-Fq upward" tuning capabilities in my DSP-based multichannel multi-SP-driver multi-amplifier fully active stereo audio setup.

In my system, the upward (or flat) Fq response slope beyond about 7 kHz can be flexibly tuned/adjusted on-the-fly depending on age and/or hearing ability of main audience as well as depending on the genre and the nature of listening sessions.

If you would be interested, please visit my post here on my project thread for the details of my such implementation and intensive discussion. Here let me share just one of the many diagrams shared in that post.

Furthermore, I also have partly participated (posts #70, #72 and #74) on the thread entitled "Audio Listening With Age Diminished Hearing".

 

[thecheapseats]

Would someone answer the damn phone already?

that's not a phone - it's a siren...

 

[DSJR]

So, how many of you have neutral enough headphones? Forget speakers, as each room will equalise highs due to massive dispersion differences at these very high frequencies.

If you or your close ones are worried about your hearing, do as I did (all but kicking and screaming) and have a professional hearing test done. I'm damned glad I did as it means I can continue to have a nice playback system still (I've had to giove up enough of my former career in the HiFi industry as it is)...

 

[RayDunzl]

In my system, the upward (or flat) Fq response slope beyond about 7 kHz can be flexibly tuned/adjusted on-the-fly depending on age and/or hearing ability of main audience

Not for me, my defliction is more like brickwall.

So I EQ the system flat - there's low wall/floor/ceiling reflections from the panels - and get no complaints from the hearing enabled - when one drops by to listen.

"Flat" allows the listening position to measure the same peaks using RTA across the audio band as the source RTA. I figure that's as close as it's gonna get to "the artist's intentions".

In-room at listening position via UMIK-1 into REW RTA, left and right source via REW RTA of the CD data.

A little difference in the bass, some ambient noise, some drops, the rest looks "good enough". No offensive peaks, anyway.

 

[fpitas]

So, how many of you have neutral enough headphones? Forget speakers, as each room will equalise highs due to massive dispersion differences at these very high frequencies.

I have old AKG K601s. They're not bad in general, but the treble is peaked, like so many headphones. Even at my lofty age (69) the highs are excessive sometimes.

 

[thecheapseats]

My ears don't do high frequencies, probably never did, verified in 1962 or so.

I blame Mom, who was similarly deflicted.

It kept me out of VietNam.

What?

Huh?

thank goodness for 'moms'...

 

[dualazmak]

Not for me, my defliction is more like brickwall.

OK, I understood well.

In my case, I wrote there;
Very fortunately, I have considerably better hearing ability over the average ability of my age group; I periodically check my hearing ability using a free software audiometer with nice headphone. I well know and understand, however, my hearing ability in 7 kHz to 20 kHz (or ca.15 kHz?) is now a little bit inferior to average of younger people; by younger people, I mean people of age 40 or less.

 

[Adi777]

have a professional hearing test done.

It's true.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

My audiogram has, for a long time, shown a huge deficit in high frequencies. Sadly, hearing aids are slightly better than the microphones that came with home tape recorders in the '50s. I can hear clipping and distortion but the limit of my high frequency hearing with hearing aids is somewhere between 8 and 10 KHz. On the good side, I'm very happy with mid-fi audio.

 

[computer-audiophile]

I certainly already have a small (?) hearing loss. But since this has developed extremely slowly over the years, my brain seems to have adapted well. So classical instruments and voices sound as usual. It wouldn't do any good to pre-program certain hearing curves on my audio system. It immediately sounds unnatural if I do so. That is why, for me, this is not a viable approach.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I certainly already have a small (?) hearing loss. But since this has developed extremely slowly over the years, my brain seems to have adapted well. So classical instruments and voices sound as usual. It wouldn't do any good to pre-program certain hearing curves on my audio system. It immediately sounds unnatural if I do so. That is why, for me, this is not a viable approach.

that's my thinking also. I live with my hearing all day every day. I don't notice any significant changes in the way I hear general sounds through the day in terms of tonal characteristics ftmp. bells and chimes still sound normal. Rattling keys still sound normal. Rustling leaves normal...I see no reason to EQ my music to counteract hearing issues so far. Also music that I know has a lot of high frequency energy from days past continues to sound right so there you go.

 

[fpitas]

I certainly already have a small (?) hearing loss. But since this has developed extremely slowly over the years, my brain seems to have adapted well. So classical instruments and voices sound as usual. It wouldn't do any good to pre-program certain hearing curves on my audio system. It immediately sounds unnatural if I do so. That is why, for me, this is not a viable approach.

Since I can EQ any way I please, I've tried various treble curves. The only curve I like is flat to about 6Khz with a tiny slope downward from there. Like you said, I think our brains automatically compensates.

 

[cookiefactory]

~16K. My ears are apparently a lot younger than my age.

 

[tomkatt]

Listened to the tonal range at https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator.

Strange... I can hear all the way up to 19.5 KHz, but I have some volume loss from 14 KHz, and an odd sort of dead zone between 15.5 KHz and 16.7 KHz where I can't hear anything, and then can hear the tones again as it goes up to 17 KHz.

Weird.

 

[dualazmak]

Listened to the tonal range at https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator.

Strange... I can hear all the way up to 19.5 KHz, but I have some volume loss from 14 KHz, and an odd sort of dead zone between 15.5 KHz and 16.7 KHz where I can't hear anything, and then can hear the tones again as it goes up to 17 KHz.

Weird.

We also have "Bone conduction" mechanism; maybe relating to your hearing sensations.