So I found out I can't hear anything substantially above 13K Hz.
https://youtu.be/qNf9nzvnd1k
The second test I took puts my hearing at the average of a 49 year old
https://youtu.be/iN3PBpInNJM
That's pretty good for me since I'm 68.

I roadied for a lot of loud bands. The Ramones, Dead Boys, Cramps. One gig I worked was for the band the Police on their first NYC tour in 77, my job was standing on stage in the Diplomat hotels 2nd floor Ballroom holding up their stack of speaker cabinets while everybody POGO'd and Slam danced moving the stage and dance floor a few inches. Much larger than Jimi's double stacked Marshall's.

Take the test

PS I've really tried but 99% of audiophile recordings I've listened to suck.
I'm not here to showcase the tricks my system can do. I want to listen to emotionally evocative and compelling music. The "What's  Spinning" section does make some great selections and reminders.
Between compression online, and ear fatigue I sort of lost the fire for Play music at home so for a while I only played my own guitar and drums at home. I went to small back room shows and clubs but now I'm back on the vinyl bridge because of the pandemic. Looking forward to some outdoor concerts


https://youtu.be/CIPi7npzXTs

Keep in mind that almost no headphone has flat frequency response.  Here is just one example:



click to enlarge

So as an example, let's say your hearing rolls off at 16kHz.  The volume was set to the human voice, which falls between 100Hz and 2KHz. There is 8dB of rise by 3K which holds pretty much until 8K. Then there is a 20dB drop at 10K.  So the 16kHz guy hears 16K just start and then disappear. The first note that he really hears comes in around 9K.

Also important to realize is the fletcher munson curve of human hearing is volume dependent. So the volume at which you listen to the test will greatly determine what you hear.



It makes it hard to test you hearing or even determine what "flat" really is.  The dotted line is the line of inaudibility. So you can see human hearing sensitivity drops by 10dB past 10kHz even at a conversational listening level. My guess is that if you increased the volume of the test above 10Khz by 10dB you will be able to hear a lot higher than you thought you could.

Steve

I did the second test a few times with my Sennheisers as well just now and the results of one ear hearing certain tones differently from the other came out about the same.

Cranking it way up or way down, same result.

I need a hearing test done.

BicycleJoe said:

I really don't think the deterioration of my hearing will affect the emotional release I get from listening to music I find inspirational.

I wholeheartedly agree with your statement.

I'm not sure if I have ever decided to listen to a piece simply because of its recording quality, except for the first time I hear it.

That album with superior recording might go into a rotation I use to demonstrate something for others, but the enticement for me to listen again and again comes from the music itself.

As you say, the fact that my hearing has changed has not affected my REASON for wanting to listen to good music and even seek more good music.
The enjoyment and fulfillment doesn't just revolve around how deeply I can "hear into" a recording session.

I guess that's good news then because my ears are totally unmatched

I was genuinely surprised that after a couple of decades standing behind a wall of subwoofers I could still easily hear 25hz but that’s balanced, I suppose, by a tremendous loss of high freq recognition. Man, I’m kinda bummed that I topped out at 10k…

I don’t hear highs the same way anymore and that’s a fact. I totally misunderstood the guidelines to mean I could exist in a 90db world for 8 hours a day and then add in the other 18 hours at whatever level I liked. I'd guess that until the 90s tour buses were consistently 70-75db in motion, the four concert hours ran 95-100db. Over 38 years it adds up.
Even so, I’m excited to see my preamp order move into the low 150s…I still know what I like to hear

This thread led me to visit my local audiologist for a check up and the results, while not totally unexpected, were really disappointing. As a side note quality hearing aids pricing starts around the same as a ZMA…

I agree, harmonics affect everything.

I've told this story many times, but even I can't remember where on this forum so I'll give it another go here.

Friend and drumming mentor was legally deaf. Got that way over time. Got hearing aids, sent them back. Didn't like listening to his wife and kids constantly having drama. Could play drums despite this handicap because his brain was already mapped before he lost his hearing.

He could not hear a phone ring. He had to lip read.

His favorite pass time was to sit down on his drum stool with his large Altec speakers, each on its own stool pointing at his head, and a giant 1970's receiver powering it from a tuner and a CD player.

As his hearing continued to decline it got so difficult that he felt defeated and gave up. Couldn't do it anymore. Couldn't play to the radio because he couldn't catch the timing cues.

Almost in tears he told us about this over a beer -- I knew exactly what to do. It was a theory of mine back then and this was the ideal way to test it. It was one of many, including a how sound quality effects the ability to dance gracefully.

We dismantled his sound system at the drum kit, all except speakers. Installed a Decware tube amp with good speaker cable. Installed a reel to reel tape machine. Created 80 minute 7.5 IPS mixes of his favorite music on tape reels. The tape machine was hooked to the amplifier with good cables.

It sounded really good.

He gave it a shot and was completely stunned. He could hear again. In fact he said it was like rewinding the clock at least 5 years.

KEY PHRASE - Brain was already mapped.

To activate those maps/recordings all you need is part of it. The music is holographic due to it's harmonics. Take one small slice of this harmonic DNA without smearing it and the whole of the song will light up in your mind.

It goes farther than that, in the minds ability to compile fragments of sound so that even music that is new to you can because of its similar harmonics and structure and tone signatures trigger the minds ability to compose. If you have ever dreamed at night while you sleep you know how powerful the minds ability to compose actually is.

My guess is that the more hearing loss you gradually get, the more magical music you like will actually sound.

Also there is this...

The energy that animates the body as many refer to as the soul is actually the real you. The physical body is an interface into the physical dimension only and that includes the brain. You could say that all experiences and memories are stored both on and off site simultaneously.  I am pretty sure that the soul can experience anything it chooses to including sound in any medium with or without a body. I would certainly hope so.  

So please don't get too caught up in all of this how good can you hear measurement stuff. Before you know what happened a placebo effect can take over. It can easily parallel the overblown false interpretation of Total Harmonic Distortion and the placebo effect that has on not only buyers but owners of said products. For certain engineers the effect is so powerful it prevents them from hearing what is really there.

Hearing is optimized for the range of the human voice and for low frequency which involves the whole body as the ear and this range goes no where near 20kHz.  Basically the more functional range is well defined in an instrument called the piano.  The highest note on a Piano is 4186 Hz.  If you can hear up to 4K, you're fine in the music department and hi-end hifi gear holds all of it's value and then some.

-Steve

Thanks for sharing that BicycleJoe. Nice that you volunteered to help people with that horrible affliction. I will keep my stereo when it happens with a note on it to continue playing until I’m dead!
And I think high end is the first to go. The high frequency splits the hairs in the chochlea. I think you can crank up the bass though if I remember my college biology.

Very Happy For You Edward T. , getting old sucks.

When I was working for the band the Police one of my jobs was to stay on stage holding up the PA cabinets while the ballroom floor bounced up and down from the people Pogo Dancing. I was in front almost inside these stacked PAs 10 foot high on both sides of the stage at the Diplomat Hotel.
It was just as they were becoming well known and on their first visit to the United States at New York City.

My ears rang for months. Tinnitus, still I've never worn earplugs at concerts. When I worked on F15 jet airplanes I wore earr protection because it was required, but youth is wasted on the young we thought we were indestructible Supermen.

Good on you for following through instead of ignoring a serious problem.



PS Now this is some heavy Zen from the heart of the Tao

STEVE WROTE Quote:

This is great news EdwardT.

Gives many of us older fellows a bit of something to look forward to.

My own check up is on hold for now, but still pending.
I love the specific frequency "recommendations" offered to your analyst.
Bet the doc had his/her hands full with some of that.