The wrist watch hearing test.

Posted by: fatcat on 02 October 2015

The other day I wound my vintage Longines wrist watch and put it to my ear to test if it was working, to my surprise I couldn’t hear it ticking. However, the second hand was sweeping so I knew it was working. I placed the watch to the other ear and it was ticking loud and clear. Swapping back to the other ear, nothing.

A little concerned I’d gone deaf in one ear, I wound my vintage Roamer Brevete, this was very loud, no problem hearing this, sounded equally loud in both ears.

Next up was a modern battery operated Rotary, this was loud and clear in my left ear, but less loud and duller in my right ear.

So, I’m obviously unable to hear frequencies at or above the ticking frequency of the Longines with my right ear.

Perhaps I should follow George’s example and go mono.

Posted on: 02 October 2015 by joerand
Originally Posted by fatcat:

So, I’m obviously unable to hear frequencies at or above the ticking frequency of the Longines with my right ear.

Not necessarily 'at or above'. You could have a drop-out of that particular frequency and still be able to hear above it. Could be due to prolonged exposure to things like motors or machinery, or might just be differential loss of hearing between your ears due to age. One thing seems clear on related posts I've read here; folks are able to enjoy music and can still appreciate subtleties between higher level gear as hearing changes with age.

Posted on: 02 October 2015 by simon, but not simple

As we get older we lose the ability to hear frequency extremes, as I found out at a recent hearing test. In moments of madness I have wondered whether having my ears syringed would be a useful "upgrade" after 52 years of continuous use and bring back some of the lost frequencies. Has anyone tried this?

Posted on: 03 October 2015 by Innocent Bystander

An interesting quick test virtually everyone can do instantly: rub finger and thum back and forth together rapidly, an inch or two away from one ear. Repeat in equivalent position with other ear - any difference in volume or the 'hiss' part of the sound? If not you probably don't have any major difference between the two ears.

 

Since an ear infection about 3 months ago I find that one ear is relatively muted overall, and more so at the higher frequency end. Simple testing with tones on an iPad with headphones confirms greater rollooff and in particular a trough in the affected ear, which though it improved substantially over a couple of months now seems fixed. 

Posted on: 03 October 2015 by Bruce Woodhouse

Maybe your watch is broken?

 

 

Bruce

Posted on: 03 October 2015 by Clive B
Originally Posted by simon, but not simple:

As we get older we lose the ability to hear frequency extremes, as I found out at a recent hearing test. In moments of madness I have wondered whether having my ears syringed would be a useful "upgrade" after 52 years of continuous use and bring back some of the lost frequencies. Has anyone tried this?

I was involved in a cycling accident a number of years ago which resulted in a cracked skull and perforated ear drum. After coming out of hospital and for several weeks beyond that I suffered a loss of hearing in my right ear. I then had that syringed and a solid lump of congealed blood and wax came out. There was an instant and significant improvement. That said, even now my right ear is quite sensitive to high volumes and it is primarily for that reason that I stopped performing in public and always wear ear plugs when attending concerts of amplified music.

 

Whilst it is clear that syringing works in this type of situation, I'm not sure that syringing normally healthy ears is expected to achieve anything.

 

 

Posted on: 03 October 2015 by Bert Schurink
Originally Posted by fatcat:

The other day I wound my vintage Longines wrist watch and put it to my ear to test if it was working, to my surprise I couldn’t hear it ticking. However, the second hand was sweeping so I knew it was working. I placed the watch to the other ear and it was ticking loud and clear. Swapping back to the other ear, nothing.

A little concerned I’d gone deaf in one ear, I wound my vintage Roamer Brevete, this was very loud, no problem hearing this, sounded equally loud in both ears.

Next up was a modern battery operated Rotary, this was loud and clear in my left ear, but less loud and duller in my right ear.

So, I’m obviously unable to hear frequencies at or above the ticking frequency of the Longines with my right ear.

Perhaps I should follow George’s example and go mono.

More simple solution, donate your equipment to young people .....

Posted on: 03 October 2015 by Romi
Originally Posted by Innocent Bystander:

An interesting quick test virtually everyone can do instantly: rub finger and thum back and forth together rapidly, an inch or two away from one ear. Repeat in equivalent position with other ear - any difference in volume or the 'hiss' part of the sound? If not you probably don't have any major difference between the two ears.

 

Since an ear infection about 3 months ago I find that one ear is relatively muted overall, and more so at the higher frequency end. Simple testing with tones on an iPad with headphones confirms greater rollooff and in particular a trough in the affected ear, which though it improved substantially over a couple of months now seems fixed. 

I did the test as referred to in your first paragraph, and all appears normal in my ears (hooray maybe I am still eligible for my planned upgrade in HiFi even in my age!).. However I have a feeling someone will put forward a proven test as to hearing which will be far more specific in detail..

Posted on: 03 October 2015 by Scooot
Hi,
Try the app.
Sound ✔️
It seems to be a good indicator to hearing imperfections.It Pretty much matches my audiology test results.

Scott
Posted on: 18 October 2015 by PureReader

Not all differences between left and right ear are due to injury or aging.
Hearing ability can be different left and right because of conditioning or practice.
Try using your mobile phone on the "wrong" ear. You may find it more difficult to understand spoken voice, but music may be equally clear. The left ear of a violinist is twice as close to the bow-string interface. Or a factory worker may have a machine emitting a complex sound to his right side for years giving his right ear and corresponding brain region lots of time to learn to hear the intricacies of that specific kind of sound and its components.