True tone deafness (congenital amusia) is rare and means real difficulty perceiving pitch differences, not just singing off-key. If you need a very large pitch gap to tell two tones apart here, it may be worth exploring — but most people who think they're tone deaf actually have normal pitch perception.

What is a normal pitch-discrimination threshold?

Many people can detect differences well under 1% near 1 kHz. As a rough guide in this test, 2% or better is normal, 2–4% is borderline, and needing more than about 4% suggests coarser-than-usual resolution worth following up.

Can hearing loss affect pitch discrimination?

Yes. Cochlear damage can blur the ear's frequency tuning, making fine pitch differences harder to hear and sometimes making music sound flat or distorted. A pure-tone test and an audiologist can clarify what's going on.

Audition

Test de discrimination des hauteurs

Mesurez la plus petite différence de hauteur que vous percevez et découvrez si vous êtes vraiment « sourd aux notes ».

~4 minDurée

Frequency-difference limen (2-AFC adaptive staircase)Méthode

GratuitCoût

Avant de commencer

Utilisez un casque dans une pièce calme. Réglez le volume à un niveau modéré et confortable avant de commencer.

Comment ça marche

1Hear two tones — They play one after the other, very close in pitch.
2Pick the higher one — Say whether the first or second tone was higher.
3Find your limit — The gap shrinks until you can no longer tell them apart.

1Headphones, quiet room — Faint pitch differences are easily masked by background noise.
2Comfortable volume — Loud isn't better — a clear, gentle level is ideal for fine judgements.
3Focus on pitch, not loudness — Judge which tone sounds higher, ignoring any tiny volume difference.
4Guess when unsure — Near your limit the tones feel identical — that's expected; just choose.

which tone is higher?

4′

Frequency-difference limen (2-AFC adaptive staircase)

Ce que ça mesure

How small a pitch difference you can reliably detect — your frequency-difference limen (FDL), expressed as a percentage of the tone's frequency. Fine pitch resolution reflects healthy cochlear function and a good ‘ear’ for music; coarse resolution can accompany cochlear hearing loss or amusia (‘tone deafness’).

Comment ça marche

This is a two-alternative forced-choice (2-AFC) task with an adaptive staircase. You compare two brief tones near 1 kHz and choose which was higher. After two correct answers the difference shrinks; one mistake widens it. Your threshold is the average of the last several turning points — the smallest difference you could still hear.

Conseils pour un résultat fiable

1Take your time — Replay the pair if needed before deciding.
2Don't overthink it — Your first impression of ‘higher’ is usually the most accurate.
3Musicians often score well — Training sharpens pitch discrimination, so compare to your own baseline over time.
4Pair with the gap-detection test — Pitch and timing are different cochlear/auditory skills — testing both is informative.