CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review products and services. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.
As we get older, our ability to hear may start to diminish. While many people are quick to get glasses for better vision, the ears are often overlooked. Let’s be honest: It’s probably been a long time since you’ve had your hearing checked, if you've had it checked at all. It's easy to take your hearing for granted, and while it's normal for your hearing to change as you get older, it's still important to monitor it. Leaving hearing loss untreated can definitely make matters worse, but unfortunately, too many people do just that. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that less than 30% of US adults aged 70 or older with hearing loss use a hearing aid to correct it. Notably, that number falls to just 16% of adults in the 20 to 69 age range. Thankfully, getting a hearing test is easier than you might think -- and you can even get yours from the comfort of your own home. Online hearing tests are a thing now, and there are a few for you to choose from.
The only way to properly diagnose hearing loss is to go to an audiologist for a professional exam. But online hearing tests are a fairly accurate way to get an initial idea of your hearing abilities from the comfort of your home; just don't take your online hearing test results as the final word. Instead, use them as a starting point for talking to your doctor or a hearing care professional.
Online hearing tests can be grouped into a few common types, including a pure-tone hearing test, which measures your ability to hear sounds of different frequencies, and a speech-in-noise test, which evaluates how well you can hear spoken words above background noises.
With the endless sea of free hearing test options online, it's sometimes hard to know which is the best option for your needs. To help you choose the best home hearing test, we tried 20 and picked our favorites. For the most accurate results, we recommend that you take the test with a high-quality pair of earbuds or headphones in the quietest area you can find. For more on hearing health, check out the best over-the-counter hearing aids you can buy.
Best online hearing test overall
The Mimi hearing test app is our top pick overall because it offers multiple test types, is very easy to use and doesn't require any email sign-up. The results are more informative than other free tests, and you can go back and access them because they're saved for you in the app.
Best online hearing tests of 2025
Mimi/Screenshot by Kim Wong-Shing Photo Gallery 1/1 Mimi/Screenshot by Kim Wong-Shing Best overall hearing test Mimi Cost: Free
Test length: About 7 minutes
Type: Pure-tone and "masked threshold" The Mimi hearing test comes in an app that you can download to your phone or laptop. You don't have to sign up and it's free -- just input some basic info, and you can access detailed results that include an audiogram and a comparison of each ear. Unlike most other online tests, this one offers two test options: the first is a regular pure-tone test, and the second is similar to a speech-in-noise test but uses tones instead of speech. Mimi calls the latter a "masked threshold" test. The app measures whether you're in a quiet enough area to get accurate results, and it can pair with your Apple AirPods to calibrate (and if you find that you have hearing loss, it can work with your AirPods to make adjustments accordingly). It works best with headphones that it can pair with, including the AirPods and some Sennheiser models, but can still be used with whatever you have. Pros: Highly intuitive
Multiple test options
Detailed results
No sign-up required Cons: Works best with Apple or Sennheiser headphones
Only available via app ... Show more Get it now See at Mimi
MDHearing/Screenshot by Kim Wong-Shing Photo Gallery 1/1 MDHearing/Screenshot by Kim Wong-Shing Best hearing test for ease of use MDHearing Cost: Free
Test length: About 8 minutes
Type: Pure-tone MDHearing's free online hearing test is a pure-tone test, which looks at how well you can hear various tones of different frequencies. You adjust the volume of each tone until it's as low as possible while still being audible, then move on to the next one. The test's interface was more intuitive than some other online tests that use a similar format. It requires an email sign-up, but you don't have to take lengthy surveys (as many hearing aid brands' online tests require), and I didn't get any spam emails after taking the test. The results of this test are detailed enough to be informative, yet easy to understand and not too overwhelming. They include an audiogram along with a guide to interpreting it, and there's a phone number to text or call for follow-up care. When it comes to free online hearing tests, for an easy, quick look at your hearing health, this test does the trick. Pros: Simple
Easy to use
Informative results Cons: Requires email sign-up ... Show more Get it now See at MDHearing
Soundly/Screenshot by Kim Wong-Shing Photo Gallery 1/1 Soundly/Screenshot by Kim Wong-Shing Most helpful results Soundly Cost: Free
Test length: About 5 minutes
Type: Pure-tone One of the challenges with online hearing tests is that home equipment isn't standardized -- your headphone quality, volume, background noise and so on can all affect the accuracy of your results. Many tests have ways of accounting for this, however. In Soundly's case, the test has you rub your hands together in front of your headphones to calibrate the volume of your headphones to the test's volume. The rest of the process consists of a standard pure-tone test in which you mark the lowest tone of each frequency that you can hear, on a set of sliders. Soundly's results are nice and detailed and include an audiogram, explanations of each type of frequency and a video with an audiologist who explains how to interpret the test. Audiograms can be confusing at first glance, so having a written and video explanation is super helpful. This test requires an email sign-up and a brief survey at the start, but aside from the results, I didn't get any pesky marketing emails after taking the test. Pros: Sound calibration step
Easy to use
Detailed results with video Cons: Email sign-up required ... Show more Get it now See at Soundly
Amplifon/Screenshot by Kim Wong-Shing Photo Gallery 1/1 Amplifon/Screenshot by Kim Wong-Shing Best hearing test for realistic everyday sounds Amplifon Cost: Free
Test length: About 3 minutes
Type: Speech-in-noise Speech-in-noise tests determine how well you can hear speech alongside background noise, which is an important ability for everyday use. Many online speech-in-noise tests just have a voice reciting numbers or words over fuzzy white background noise. Amplifon's test mimics real life: You'll have to figure out what people are saying at the orchestra, at a busy cafe, on a loud city street and more. The test takes just a few minutes. Speech-in-noise tests don't test your hearing at different frequencies, so you won't get those types of detailed results, but they can help see how hearing loss could affect your life on a day-to-day basis. Amplifon's results tell you whether you have signs of hearing loss, how severe it is if so and what you can do next. Because Amplifon itself is a hearing care platform, there's also a link to request an appointment. Pros: Realistic and intuitive interface
Quick
No email sign-up required Cons: Results not as detailed ... Show more Get it now See at Amplifon