A fun way to test your hearing

If you’ve ever been curious about how good your hearing is’and if you have access to an iPhone or iPod touch’you’ll want to download uHear, a free application that lets you see just how good your hearing is.

I tried it out at the office’not a "very quiet" environment, as they recommend, but pretty close on a Friday afternoon’and did the two quick tests (one about 6 minutes, one just a minute). What did I find? My right ear is better than my left, and I have what they term "mild hearing loss"’although past the age of 25, it’s possible that I’m normal.

I’m taking these results with a grain of salt; after all, as uHear says itself, variances in environment, headphone quality and even the settings on your phone can affect the quality of the results. But it’s probably safe to say that the ear comparison is accurate, and for people who have a hard time (or, in some countries, can’t afford) visiting the doctor it’s a good first step in assessing the level of hearing loss.

As for me, I’ll turn my music down one more notch while I’m on the subway.

Are you concerned about hearing loss? Have you done anything about it?