Because we all hear things differently, often with variations between one ear and the other, headphones that tune themselves to the way we hear is a compelling idea. Can headphones that even out our strengths and weaknesses, giving us equalised hearing across all frequencies, work? And can they address the drop-off in high range processing that we all encounter as we grow older?

Chris Jeffery and James Fielding, Brisbane doctors who have spent much of their time testing hearing, promise all of this with their soon-to-be-released Audeara headphones. They say that everyone has a degree of hearing loss, and they believe their headphones can correct this to "make music better – not louder – and provide perfect sound, always". That's quite a promise.

They've launched a Kickstarter campaign for their invention and I've listened to their first prototype. Perfect sound? Well, not for me.

These are acceptable headphones. There's noise-cancelling and phone compatibility, but to do their special stuff you download an app and, while the headphones are connected by Bluetooth (standard SBC format right now but Audeara is working on getting aptX HD) you do a hearing test. It results in a graph of your sensitivities, both right ear and left, which is stored on your device so you can retest whenever you want.

The app loads your test parameters onto a chip within the headphones and the sound is tailored to your ears, operating with whatever source you plug in.

Important point: rather than increasing the volume of frequencies where your hearing is weak, the Audearas bring down the volume of frequencies where your hearing is OK to meet your weaknesses, making the response line as flat as possible. This is preferable for sound quality, but for me it didn't work at all. My hearing is weak in the very high range – well beyond the range of instruments but below the expectations of the app. This means the lows and mids in my listening parameter are so reduced I can only get a listenable result with the volume maxed out. If I want anything loud, well forget that. This was on Bluetooth; with a cable the volume is even less, verging on marginally audible.

Further, the lows are so reduced and the highs so pronounced that the high range can get harsh, sharp and downright uncomfortable. The cymbals on the drum kit sound less like a clash, more like a hiss. If doctors Jeffery and Fielding are right, I'm hearing things as they should be. I don't accept this for a moment.

But let's say they're right. Then my situation is that over many years I've become used to the way I actually hear things, rather than the way I should hear things, and going back is entirely unpleasant.

To be fair, people with better hearing than mine will likely get a much more acceptable result along with greater flexibility in volume levels, but then they may not need Audearas. And this was prototype number one. Dr Fielding tells me I'm not the first with my reaction; there have been enough people like me to convince him that software tweaks and some extra amplification are necessary. He says he'll have it sorted when he goes to market and has promised me an update. I'll get back to you.

The Audearas come with an internal lithium-ion battery that's good for 12 hours using both Bluetooth and noise cancelling, bit longer on Bluetooth only. If you're interested there's still time to sign up on Kickstarter, and the product is due to launch mid-year at $499.