Earplug Sound Test

Run the test in a quiet place while focused. Use good earphones with wide frequency range and enough output level; closed headphones are preferred. You may need to play at maximum volume. If you hear distortion, try a headphone amplifier or different headphones. For example, Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro should work on a typical laptop.

Run the test without earplugs first. This gives an indication of whether your right and left ear hear the test bands at the same level.

Put the earplug in the right ear for the normal test, and keep the left ear open. Put headphones over your ears: one ear with the earplug and one without. Adhere to the L/R marking on the headphones. To test the other ear, put the earplug in the left ear and reverse the headphone sides.

Turn off active noise reduction, auto gain control, or similar processing if available, as it may disrupt the measurement. Try to reset your mind for each frequency. When attenuation is high, the noise band may seem slightly shifted in frequency between ears; try to ignore that and judge loudness only. It can help to imagine an analog VU meter in your mind.

The test presumes equal hearing ability in both ears. Ear-to-ear hearing differences can be checked or offset by flipping the test: put the earplug in the other ear and reverse the headphone sides, then compare the measurements.

This is meant to give an indication. It is not a certified medical or safety test.

Credit: Tom A. Trones & Olav Kvaloy, 2019.