Aurisma lets you hear what hearing loss sounds like with real audiogram patterns that are applied live in your browser to speech, music, or any other sound you choose.
I created a hearing loss simulator because while many exist online, they only use preset audio files to demonstrate how parts of speech disappear at certain frequencies for particular types of hearing loss. I wanted to also demonstrate the effect of hearing loss on music.
I built this with privacy in mind: everything runs in your browser, so no one can see personal health information unless you choose to share it. There are no accounts and nothing to sign up for. Your profiles, test results, and audio stay on your own device.
Please keep in mind that this is an educational tool, and it is not diagnostic. If you're concerned you may have a hearing loss or that your existing loss has changed, please see a medical professional.
Why I made this
I was born hard of hearing, and I want other people to understand that I cannot naturally hear music in the same way. Many people think hearing loss is sound being quieter when the reality is more complicated.
My mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss was treated with hearing aids beginning at age 3, but they were essentially tiny speakers in my ear canals, optimized for conversational speech. Music came through distorted, compressed into the midrange, and stripped of its depth. I could wear headphones without hearing aids and simply turn up the volume, but it wasn't a true solution.
For years, I would modify an equalizer to boost frequencies that my audiogram said I couldn't hear. This worked well enough when I could listen on my computer in iTunes, but the iPod didn't support my custom equalizer settings. As Bluetooth rose in popularity during the mid-2000s, I wished hearing aids could connect wirelessly too. Over a decade later, I would get my first pair of rechargeable and Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids that streamed audio from my iPhone. But they still weren't quite as comfortable or high in audio quality as a pair of headphones.
It wasn't until October 2024, when I purchased a pair of AirPods Pro 2 after they’d been FDA approved for hearing aid functionality, that I felt like being hard of hearing was factored into mainstream audio devices. I uploaded my most recent audiogram into my phone and heard music in a new way. There were parts of songs that I hadn't heard before, even with my equalizer modifications. And I didn't have to do it myself anymore, because it was now simply a setting on a commercially available device. Someone had understood my experience and wanted to make it better.
My hearing
This is the profile I made from my own audiogram. Press play to hear how a sound reaches me without hearing aids, or open it in the simulator to try your own music. You can hold A/B to hear the difference.
Get in touch
Questions, ideas, or something that isn't working? Use the contact form, or find more of my work at juliesandburg.com.