Online hearing test: what it can reveal, and where it stops

What does the G-Sound self-check test?

The check has three parts, and each one looks at hearing from a different angle:

1. A 10-question questionnaire. The questions are adapted from the NIDCD questionnaire "Do You Need A Hearing Test?" (NIDCD is the US National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders). They ask about familiar situations: a restaurant, a TV that others find too loud, meeting family and friends, the cinema or theatre. According to NIDCD, someone who answers "yes" to 3 or more questions may want to consider a hearing test with an ear, nose and throat doctor or an audiologist.
2. Tones for each ear separately. A few tones at different pitches, in the right ear and the left ear. The check records only whether you heard a tone and at what relative loudness, to see whether there is a difference between the ears.
3. Digits in noise. You hear three digits against background noise and type them in. The noise gets stronger when you answer correctly and weaker when you make a mistake. This is the part that tries to come close to a conversation in a noisy place.

At the end you get a summary in words, without numbers, and a recommendation on whether to go on to a full test.

Why is hearing tones not enough?

Tones through home headphones are strongly affected by the equipment. A 2025 systematic review looked at 12 studies of 15 apps and online tools for hearing tests, and found very large variation in their accuracy. The researchers noted that differences in the test setting, the devices and the types of headphones make comparison difficult (Audiol Res, 2025). Another study, from 2020, notes that different types of headphones can create large differences in the loudness that reaches the ear.

That is why we added a step of understanding speech in noise. The World Health Organization (WHO) built the hearWHO app on the digits-in-noise method, for screening and for following up over time. Our step is based on the same method, but our version has not been validated in research, so its result is only a signal. More in the article The digits-in-noise test.

What the online test does not do

• It does not measure hearing thresholds and does not show numbers.
• It does not give an audiogram.
• It does not determine whether there is hearing loss, what type it is or what degree.
• It does not choose a hearing aid and does not recommend a model.
• It does not replace a hearing test. Your headphones, phone and room are not calibrated.
• It is not suitable for an urgent situation: sudden hearing loss, ear pain or discharge from the ear are reasons to see a doctor the same day.

How to take the test so it is useful

• Headphones, not a speaker. Without headphones, each ear cannot be tested separately.
• A quiet room. Noise from the street, an air conditioner or a TV will affect the result.
• Loudness set by the reference tone. At the start of the test there is a tone by which you set the device volume, and you do not change it afterwards.
• A right and left check. Before the tones, the test makes sure the headphones are not reversed and that the device is not in mono mode. If something is wrong, a message explains what to check.
• Do not guess. Some steps include a deliberate moment of silence. Pressing "I heard it" when there was no tone will show in the summary.

How to read the summary

The summary is written in words. For example: how many times you answered "yes" in the questionnaire, in which ear there were tones you heard only when they were played louder, and whether you understood digits in quiet but struggled when the noise got stronger.

Even if nothing came up, the summary will remind you that this is not a hearing test. And if the result looks good but you find it hard to hear in everyday life, it is still worth getting tested. A self-check can miss a mild difficulty.

The answers stay in your browser. The check does not save them and does not send them.

What happens next: the full test

A full test is done with an audiometer and gives an audiogram. At G-Sound it is carried out by a G-Sound technician with an audiogram, and it also includes a test of speech understanding (discrimination), not only tones. We do home hearing tests nationwide by appointment, and also at work or at an institution. We come with an audiometer, a computer, equipment for taking impressions and checking ears, hearing aid software and accessories.

What is done in the test itself, step by step: What happens in a hearing test. The differences between the two tests: Online test vs full test.

More on this topic

• To the self-check (in Hebrew)
• Home hearing test
• Private hearing test (in Hebrew)
• What happens in a hearing test
• The digits-in-noise test: why digits and why noise
• Online test vs full test
• Hard to hear in a restaurant, but fine in quiet?
• AirPods and online hearing tests

The self-check, and after it the full test. A few minutes, headphones and a quiet room: to the self-check (in Hebrew). For a full test with an audiogram, also at home: call 055-3333338 or WhatsApp.

Sources

• NIDCD, "Do You Need A Hearing Test?" (bookmark, March 2016; adapted from Newman et al., 1990, HHIA) · checked 03.11.2026
• WHO, hearWHO · checked 03.11.2026
• WHO, "WHO launches the hearWHO app for mobile devices to help detect hearing loss" (01.03.2018) · checked 03.11.2026
• Hassan, Wiil & Ebrahimi, "The Accuracy of Self-Administered Web- and App-Based Tools for Audiometric Tests: A Systematic Review", Audiol Res 15(3):73, 2025 (PMID 40558412) · checked 03.11.2026 (abstract, via Europe PMC)
• Colsman et al., "Evaluation of Accuracy and Reliability of a Mobile Screening Audiometer in Normal Hearing Adults", Frontiers in Psychology, 2020 · checked 03.11.2026

English version: 4 November 2026 · Written by the G-Sound editorial team. Original version updated 03.11.2026. The information is general and does not replace a check-up or medical advice.

More in English

Hearing testsOnline hearing testWhat happens in a hearing testHome hearing testContact G-Sound