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Summer Night
Near ultra-sonic Natural Frequency Sound Generator
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Starry NightQuiet NightBatsUltrasonic Surprise!

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mode Soft HardSolo Duo Trio
speed ÷8 ÷4 ÷2Normalx2 x4 x8
range Set→[ LowHigh ]←Set

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Nature sounds as test tones: the fun hearing test

Simply enjoy the sound of this summer night ambience, or dig a little further: behind this soundscape, hides a valuable tool that will challenge your hearing!

Don't be fooled by the fun factor of this noise generator, and by the fact that we use natural sounds instead of synthetic test tones. The whole challenge was to find in nature the exact sounds needed to build a serious hearing test. This is not a classic hearing test though. Regular audiograms - as those produced by audiologists - do not cover these frequencies, which are considered too high to care about in a strict medical point of view. This is exactly what makes this soundscape special: it relies on these "useless" frequencies that we only hear when we are young and in good health. If you are interested in a classic ENT hearing test, try HearingTest.online, an online hearing test, with an audiogram printout.

Have kids around you when you are playing this noise, and let them proudly describe the sounds that remain inaudible to you. Looking at your nearby pets can give you interesting clues too.

WARNING: you will be tempted to increase the volume on your computer, trying to hear sounds that will remain inaudible to you anyway. DON'T DO THAT or you may end up in deafening people around you - especially younger kids - or your pets; and, there is a risk of damaging your speakers' tweeters too. SERIOUSLY.

The sounds

Let's now review each slider separately. The three first sliders test broad frequency ranges; the next ones are centered around given frequencies.

Click the first slider link, then set your computer—s volume level so that the sound plays comfortably loud, then, DON'T CHANGE YOUR COMPUTER—S VOLUME ANYMORE - see the warning above — and start exploring the other sounds.

Slider 1 - the upper range of the classic hearing test: 4-8kHz
Slider 2 - at the verge of the classic hearing test: 8-12kHz
Slider 3 - beyond the classic hearing test: 10-16kHz
Slider 4 - various cicadas with one particularly active around 12kHz
Slider 5 - one particular around 14kHz
Slider 6 - one particular around 15kHz
Slider 7 - one particular around 16kHz
Slider 8 - cicadas around 16-19kHz
Slider 9 - a bat sonar (isolated chirps) around 17k-20k
Slider 10 - cicada around 20-21kHz

Published on July 1st, 2014

User Stories

Write your own here. Click the blue bulletsto load associated settings.

  I have developed Tinnitus in the past 4 years. I was diagnosed with Diabetes & Lymphoma in the same week, - not sure which created the issue. Comes & goes - I found that Rice Fields really helped & afterwards it was gone for a time. Now I am trying Summer Night - it appears to be working while it is playing so I will see what the final result is.

  32FTM on testosterone hrt (idk if hormones affect hearing, but they do change cartilage so maybe??). Can hear 1-9 easily and 10 intermittently, I think (could be imagining/wanting to hear it!)

  Absolutely amazing, helps you study for hours without noticing how much time have spent . I just wanted to thank whoever made this site.

  I can only hear the first slide. The rest are silent.

  This really helps me sleep! I've been so paranoid lately, but not with this on at night!

  I come here for the break from the cicadas in my head every so often. I find myself heaving a sigh of relief. It is a blessing to all of us. Thanks Stephane!

  Using this as a diagnostic for my ear infection. Yesterday I woke up with a bad case of tinnitus (not something I usually deal with!) and realized something was up when I couldn't hear anything past slider 3 out of my right ear. Today, it's a bit quieter, but I can hear everything again! (Well, except for #10, but I can never hear that one lol). AND it does a great job masking my tinnitus.

  Haha can hear bats :)

  uhhhh 61F. Can only hear the first 5 sliders and now I'm so sad. Well, sure, I have tinnitus and over 50 years of playing in brass bands, but I didn't realise my hearing had gone that much.

  I've had tinnitus since childhood, several very high frequencies. The Summer Night generator masks them and it's like I hear normally again! Truly amazing!

  After my tinnitus suddenly worsened, I started having a lot of trouble focusing and music wasn't enough to mask the noise by itself. Thanks to these crickets and cicadas, I finally have a natural set of noises that can let me work at home in peace, especially when combined with the Primeval Forest!

  No special setting--the key is calibrating and applying full calibration. I am using Sennheiser monitoring headphones. I have suffered for years with high-frequency hypersensitivity that causes pain. Even water running in the sink hurts my ears! Now, I am playing this below the threshold of pain and it is helping tremendously. You amaze me, Stephane!

  Like a pure and dark blue summer night.

  Have had tinnitus for about eight years now. The first few months terrifying. And then some accommodation began to occur. It has been relatively stable for a long while and bearable. In the last week it has increased, so I came back to my old friend Summer Nights and breathed a sigh of relief. Brilliant way to break up the high drone of my "heat bugs." Thanks again for being here.

  It’s ok to wear earplugs at shows, kids!

  Hi, I have tinnitus and this really helps. How can I download a file of these sounds, in case this website goes down? This really gives me relief [Slider Settings : Order As Audio File]

  I can hear up to the 16 kHz cicada on slider 7. The rest is quiet. It's sad because I'm 20 and my hearing range will only decrease. Other hand, joy has a cost, and I've greatly enjoyed listening to loud music. Doctors don't tell you the fun things to do, only the safe things. So we ignore them whenever we eat red meat, drink, smoke, etc. Life is a balance.

  I just turned 20 (male), and I was able to hear all the separate sliders at my normal volume - apart from the last one, which I could only hear after turning up my system volume to 100%.

  67M (part 2) - can hear 1-10 when I select "Faster" on the Tape Speed - so selecting either Slower or Faster makes all of the sliders audible rather than just 1-5 - NB: later discovered that the bat sonar on Slider 9 is audible to me on the normal setting after all, just took a while to notice.

  67M - can hear 1-5, not 6-10 - BUT can easily hear 1-10 clearly after clicking "Slower" once on Tape Speed (NB: the Online Hearing Test result was Normal Hearing with all but one marker close to the zero line)

  This really does give me some relief from my moderate tinnitus. Thanks so much!

  First thing when opened actually masked my tinnitus quite well.

  50M, can hear all of them up to and including slider 10, on 10 only default "strange" sensation on the ear.

  I have tinnitus, a permanent high-pitched squeal and the only sound I can hear is slider #1. :(

  23F I can hear sliders 1-9... Slider 10 is audible after 2 clicks of "slower" button.

  The first six I can hear at a normal, comfortable volume level. The seventh I can hear at max volume (on the sliders), but the rest I can't hear at all. Pretty cool!

  I can hear everything but slider 10. That just hurts.

  I suppose this should be odd, but... I can hear band 4 (12khz) but nothing at all from band 3 that is supposed to start at 10khz. And other than the first two stems, that's all I hear of any of it. I'm 46, and certainly _thought_ I'd taken the usual precautions to preserve my hearing.

  Default Summer Night + Default Nocturnal Garden + "Shepard Up" Shepard Madness is my best mean to calm down when I am agitated.

  41 NB - I can't hear anything above slider 6, and that one sounds weirdly distorted. Listening while I'm at work to see if my higher register can be restored.

  F/34 - I hear 1-6, and 9 very well. Didn't hear anything at 7 and 8 first, but after listening for a while I do hear them if the sliders are maxed out. I don't hear anything at number 10.

  I can hear from 1 to 9 with the volume level of 45%. Boy, 24.

  77-year-old male. Can't hear a thing above slider one. Severe tinnitus since falling at age three and slamming my head on the asphalt street. I had no idea my hearing loss in the upper registers was this deficient.

  36, male. I suffer from Tinnitus, I can hear up to slider 7 inclusive. What I also like, is that longer listening to this generator somehow modulates my Tinnitus perception. So, when I go to sleep after hours of listening to this, my tinnitus in silence sounds like the insects, which I then find calming instead of disturbing... Thank you very much...

  26 y/o trans man with sensory processing disorder - I can hear all of 1-9, and tiny pieces of 10 when (I assume) the frequency dips into the 20kHz range, which I think has more to do with the range of my headphones than my actual ears.

  58M, Well i can hear Slider 1-5 ok, nothing on 6 but oddly can hear 7-9 relatively ok (but again nothing on 10.)

  Well, I can't hear the top three sliders, but I'm pretty sure it's because my headphones can't handle them (they tried, but produced a completely different, lower frequency). That said, I love this as just a nice, light backdrop when I want something to wake me up a little without being too distracting. Kind of reminds me of camping trips with my family. Thanks for the nostalgia.

  Close your eyes and enjoy the fresh air and calm symphony of nature. No matter winter or summer, when I tune in this melody my childhood memories return and it's going to be a great night. (p.s. I can detect more high pitch frequencies without headphones listening directly through my speakerphone)

  41M - too much loud music in my younger days means I can barely here slider 6 and nothing on from there. I do enjoy the sounds though!

  Higher end on the scale has been upped a bit to make it a bit easier to hear. And the very front end a bit louder as if the crickets are close. A very realistic sound!

  56F, using headphones. I have persistent tinnitus and apparently some hearing loss. I can only hear sliders #1 and #2. Thank goodness for the calibration feature of the site, which allows me to hear almost all frequencies when it is engaged.

  19F - I can hear up to slider 8, but I can barely hear 9 if my tinnitus isn't acting up.

  35M, I hear up to slider 9 clearly, but my headphones have a frequency response of up to 18kHz so I'd need something more capable to know if slider 10 is audible to me.

  18M, can hear all of them... Slider 1 is the best though.

  21F, can hear all but #10, though the high-frequency sounds (especially #8-9) really "reverberate" in my head in an interesting way.

  36M -- Can hear all but 10. 1-7 are very easy, 8 and 9 needs a little focus to filter them out for the first few seconds, totally fine after that. Like tuning into a radio station.

  41F - I can hear numbers 1-5 well. With number 6, I can appreciate a difference between that and #7, but I don’t think I would be able to appreciate #6 is a sound otherwise. I can’t hear 7-10.

  39F - I have tinnitus and some hearing damage from being a flight attendant for six years. I can't hear anything on any slider after 5. I can hear 5 mostly fine and then it all just goes silent from there.

  55F - have tinnitus, can only hear first 2.

  17F, I can only hear the first two. The other ones are barely audible, even at full volume. My tinnitus drowns most of it out haha

  Male, 24, play in a doom metal band. On speakers. Can hear up to and including 9 without a doubt, but not 10.

  Male, 61. Severe tinitus. I'm hearing slide 1 and faint slide 2. That's it.

  Male, 32 - slider 7 just barely.

  Female 27, with highly sensitive ears (need earplugs in social areas). Definitely 8, probably 9 (faint chirps). 10 sounds close to the pitch my inner ear makes when I am concentrating (C - used to go up to F when I was a kid), so I might be imagining I hear that.

  Male 22. Can hear clearly up to 9. Slider 10 BARELY audible in left ear at max volume (yes, the text said not to do that...) if I concentrate on it.

  20, Male - can hear up to Slider 9. Well more so I can feel the slight noise around the back of my head ever so slightly!

  32/M - slider 5

  This has cursed my tinnitus, I can't hear it at all when I have all of the sliders playing. I cannot thank you enough, previously only bird sounds could do this. It's blissful relief, thank you so so so much.

  F 20, ringing tinnitus in my right ear and loud droning tinnitus in both. Can't hear #4 or #10 at all.

  Male 19, tinnitus got real bad in the army. I can only hear #1 in my left ear.

  Male, 46, I can easily hear everything up to 5. With good headphones (Sennh 650, so really not a monitoring one), I can hear up to 9 if I push my amp volume almost to the max. I have "mild" tinnitus at around 7,5 kHz I think, and number 5 (14 kHz), which is perfectly audible for me but almost unnoticeable if mixed with music, make my tinnitus almost disappear. This is *very* cool!

  I'm 26, have had tinnitus my whole life due to a lot of ear infections as a kid. I can only hear up to slider 2. Absolutely WILD that I turned slider 3 up all the way and still couldn't hear it!

  33 - female - I am very impressed with my own ability, grateful for my ears as some of my best tuners into music and frequencies - and to hear up to 9 accurately and then 10 nothing.

  19/M I can properly hear up to about 7, 8 is a little bit harder but still distinguishable, 9 pretty much can't hear anything, very slight "chirps" or "clicks" ever once in a while, and 10 gets a little bit easier than 9.

  17 male, this is really cool, even if 10 is dead silent for me. I can hear 7, just barely, and the bat sonar is really interesting to listen to. I can't fully hear 8, but it makes my tinnitus worse, so I assume its just hidden by the sound. I can only dream of hearing slider 10.

  27, female: I can reliably hear 1-6, can "feel" 7 and 8 as pressure in my head, and then nothing above that. I do have studio monitor headphones, so I'm pretty sure they can reproduce noise that far up the scale.

  Keep in mind you need good headphones for every slider to work! With cheap headphones- can barely hear up to the 9th slider. With quality headphones- all are loud and clear.

  I'm 22 - I've had tinnitus for a while now. I didn't know about it until recently - I just thought it was normal to hear high frequencies when things are quiet. This sound generator has helped me in ways I didn't even realise were impeding me. I'm only able to hear up to slider 7. Recently my younger brother came in and asked me why I was listening to screeching haha! Thank you for this!

  26 y/o woman, can them all except 10

  I'm 23 and can just BARELY hear the fourth one which was... quite surprising as I don't feel I have an issue hearing at all! Definitely going to keep using this though as it's quite a nice thing to listen to.

  I have Tinnitus and have found that Summer Night helps to block some of the ringing sounds. Having grown up in a rural area it reminds me of catching lightning bugs in the evening.

  I'm so glad this exists. I've had tinnitus for around five months now, and honestly, I don't know what I'd do without this generator. I have it on as I fall asleep every night, and it helps me blend out the tinnitus and provides non-distracting background noise that isn't a problem when you're trying to sleep.

  I'm 16 and I can hear all of them. At first, I couldn't notice the last one as it's very low (nearly inaudible if I don't focus) but it's pleasant background noise!

  38 y/o female: I can barely pick up sliders 7 and 8, but 5 and above are uncomfortable to listen to regardless.

  I am 69 years old and I can hear the first five. I can't find my earphones but if I could I might be able to go higher :-)

  This is beautiful, I'm suffering from tinnitus and this is great, it even makes it more faint when not listing!

  17 year old girl, can hear them all... That's really cool I'm glad I can :D Wow it hurts my head to listen to though... this is fun to try out!

  27 year old female - I can only hear up to number 7 and it is VERY faint and almost hurts my eardrums.

  15 - female - I can hear the whole of the clearly even when they are very low - feels good!

  I'm 41 and female and can only hear sliders 1 and 2 at any volume :( I had wondered if I had hearing loss and looks like this proves it!

  Before, I could only hear up to slider 8, but I got new headphones so now I can ear em all. Fun stuff :)

  Note that your headphones or speakers might not be able to reproduce the highest frequencies.

  49, female, can hear from slider 1 to 5, nothing more than that!

  20 year old, I can hear 1-10, but only if ten is cranked to the highest volume. The sound is torturous and awful but I'm glad I can hear it.

  18 years old, can hear sliders 1-9 comfortably. Slider 10 is felt more than heard, also requires decent tweeters to notice it. You won't hear anything through basic computer or cell phone speakers.

  30 years old, female. Can hear all of them but Slider 10.

  Female, 27 y.o. - I can hear them all except for no. 10 :)

  This needs soundcard set to 96khz at least to hear. I can hear up to 16khz, but due to the usb soundcard built into the headphones, I can hear just a subtle 15khz whistling.

  54 year old female. Can hear 1-5 very well. Cannot hear slider 6 at all, but can definitely hear the cicada on slider 7. Not as loud as 1-5, but can hear it. Makes no sense to me that I can hear 7 but not 6. Zip above 7.

  Male, 52y (tinnitus) : 1-5 can hear on normal volume, 6 hear only on high volume, 7-10 can't hear anymore.

  46f here - can hear 1-5 well. 6 and 7 if I turn the volume all the way up.

  Walking through a field in the countryside at night, watching bats fly past in the light of the moon.

  46 male, 1-2-4-5-6 very clear. All others are very faint but I can hear them with the volume turned up.

  Female 46. I hear 1-5 very clear, then 6 is.... well nothing that I can hear.

  Female, 26 years old -- I can hear through slider 8, and slider 9 I can easily feel in my head as intermittent sharp pulses. Nothing from slider 10, although as others have said, that could also be due to my system's capabilities.

  Male 19y/o here, thought my hearing wouldn't be up to par from many years of headphone use but hey, reaching up till 9 just fine! Also, love your work here a ton! :D

  Note that this doesn't necessarily say your hearing is bad - it could also be a limitation of your computer. If you suspect your hearing is bad, go see a doctor instead of freaking out over here. Love this site as always!

  One thing this Summer Night soundscape does do quite well is to mask my high frequency tinnitus. Not sure how that works, but it does. A big thank you!

  The 10 is a lie! lol No I have to pump the volume up on my laptop and headphones amplifier to "hear" something but not sure it's not buzz on the line. I guess this test is really dependent on your setup as well and especially your headphones frequency range and how well they redistribute. Great sound as always. Merci beaucoup.

  I am 26, female, but I have hearing issues, I can barely hear 1-6, but still sounds beautiful :)

  Male, 34, can hear clearly up until 7, then 8 and 9 sound very quiet, and 10 is imperceptible. The setting as I have it saved for this comment I use combined with Cave Water, which almost completely blocks all background noise (barking dogs, alarms etc) and I have used it all day long every day for 7 years to write a Masters, PhD and currently a book. I cannot thank Stephane enough for this site.

  19, female, can hear clearly up to 9, but 10...

  17, female, can clearly hear 1-7. I think I also hear 8-9, but cannot really tell, since there is a natural source of ultrasonic noise in my room, and it confuses me.

  Hi! I am 39, female, no tinnitus or anything, but a notoriously loud office. I can hear up to slider 7. Then I only get a weird "feeling", but can't really hear it. Excellent site, thank you so much!

  This site is wonderful! :) I can't hear quite a few of these on my devices at home, but tried at work and could hear all, so if you're wondering, like I was, how your hearing seems to be worse than you thought, try this generator on a few other devices before you start worrying ;)

  Wow. This has become my favorite. It sounds exactly like when I have the windows open at night in the summer. I also use Distant Thunder with it, as someone else had mentioned. Simply amazing.

  I did not realize about the cicadas and insects until I clicked on Summer Night. This has become a real favorite, the upper registers completely override my annoying tinnitus. I add Distant Thunder to the mix and go to sleep thinking the cicadas and other insects in their various frequencies are harbingers of the coming storm - they sense something we don't!

  Hmm, I can only hear sounds to slider 6... and I'm only 27 and female. wearing over-ear Bluetooth headphones. I tried with and without noise cancelling. Hearing loss runs in my family, but I'm the only female that I know of that has shown distinct symptoms of hearing loss that's noticeable to other people. I did grow up working in a music venue and just going to a lot of concerts in general.

  Through my on-ear headphones, I can hear up to slider 5. With my in-ear phones (iPhone), I can hear up to slider 6, but only if I crank the volume. I'm 54 and female. Looking forward to attempting to re-train my hearing!

  I am 62 and can hear 1-5 but 3 is only just audible for me.

  For my perfect sleep inducer, I used the Stack feature to stack Summer Night at about mid-volume with Northern Lights at low volume. The result is an all's-right-with-the-world. Good night, world! See you in the morning!

  Chose the Starry Night preset and I love it! It sounds so nice and I love listening to it in the background.

  25 female. I can clearly hear everything up to the 9th slider, but the 10th is only audible when I turn the volume on my computer to the maximum... I hope it means my hearing is quite alright. :)

  Just tried this with Huu Chant (two tabs at the same time) mind blowing, soooooooo calming ! A must for stressed minds everywhere!

  ← This particular setting actually sounds like a Virginia field in the early morning when the sun would hit the tall grass, years ago when we still had fireflies at night. Sometimes I'd hear this in the shade on a quiet summer day. I've been looking for the sound associated with the "insects" slider for ages.

  Very cool. I'm 28 and I can hear slides 1-9. I think I can hear 10 but I'm not sure. The funny thing is that on my phone speakers I can only hear until slide 5. From 6 onwards I have to put the phone right next to my ear to be able to hear the sounds. That or headphones, so I'm not sure if I'd be able to hear the sounds in the middle of nature as this is supposed to be about.

  18 Male: I can hear 1-8 but I can feel 7-9. 9 especially feels like a bump at the back of my throat at irregular intervals.

  I am 61 and can hear Sliders 1 & 2 clearly. Very faint hearing or perhaps "sensing" of sounds on Slider 3. Nothing above that. Yikes.

  I'm 28, hear bats in real live, and I can hear slider 1-8 at low to medium settings (those cicadas are so annoying I had to set them pretty low!), #9 at about 90