Hearing-range tone
20000 Hz — 20 kHz Upper Limit
20 kHz is the traditional upper limit of human hearing. Most adults can't hear it at all, and many speakers can't reproduce it either.
Tap a note to play its exact pitch — C1 to B8
Press Space to play
About the 20000 Hz tone
About 20 kHz is as high as human hearing is usually said to reach, and even that mostly applies to young children. For most adults this tone is silent — and plenty of everyday speakers and earbuds do not reproduce 20 kHz cleanly, so hearing nothing is completely normal.
To find your own upper limit, start lower — around 15 kHz — and step upward. This is a casual curiosity check, not a medical hearing test.
Because 20 kHz sits right at the traditional edge of the audible range, it tests your gear as much as your ears: many speakers and earbuds put out very little this high, and even capable headphones need a sensible volume to reveal it at all. If you’re mapping your own range, treat 20 kHz as the finish line and work up to it from 15 and 17 kHz rather than starting here.
Technical details
- Frequency
- 20000 Hz
- Nearest note
- D#10 (+8¢)
- Category
- Hearing-range tone
- Period
- 0.0500 ms
- Wavelength (air)
- 1.7 cm
- Octave up / down
- 40000 Hz / 10000 Hz
Common uses
- Test the very top of your hearing range
- Check whether high-end gear reproduces 20 kHz
- The “can you hear 20000 Hz?” curiosity test
Frequently asked questions
Can humans hear 20000 Hz?
20 kHz is the traditional upper limit of human hearing, and even that mostly applies to young children. For most adults the tone is silent, which is completely normal.
I can’t hear 20000 Hz — is that a problem?
No — it’s expected for most adults, and many everyday speakers and earbuds don’t even reproduce 20 kHz. It’s a casual curiosity check, not a hearing test, so hearing nothing here isn’t something to read into.
What note is 20000 Hz?
20000 Hz sits far beyond the range of any musical instrument — it marks the edge of hearing rather than a musical pitch. The generator still shows the nearest note and cents for reference.