Think back to those elementary school years when you’d put on a bulky set of headphones and were asked to raise your hand over the respective ear in which you heard a slight beeping sound.

Well, the YouTube channel ASAP Science has another test that will evaluate how “old” your ears are based on the frequency you are able to hear.

hearing aging ears

ASAP Science in less than two minutes explains why as you age, it becomes harder to hear sounds at higher frequencies. (Image: YouTube video screenshot)

It turns out that hair cells, a type of nerve cell in the ear charged with picking up these frequencies and transmitting them to our brain as sound, become damaged over the years and are less able to pick up higher frequencies.

hearing aging

Hair cells pick up frequencies and send signals to the brain. As these cells age, they do a poorer job picking up higher frequencies, resulting in an inability to hear at some levels. (Image: YouTube video screenshot)

Higher frequencies are the first to go because, as ASAP Science explained, because “the hairs tuned to high pitches are the first to encounter sound waves” and therefore tend to lose function sooner.

Take the test and learn more about hearing loss as people age (Note: Be sure to use headphones and watch in 1080p as ASAP Science suggests):

(H/T: GeekOSystem)

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