Sexual wellbeing

Low Testosterone Symptom Screener (ADAM)

A private, validated 10-question screener — the Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male questionnaire — for symptoms that can point to low testosterone in men. You'll see whether your answers fit the pattern worth checking, and what a simple blood test would confirm. It's a screen, not a diagnosis, and nothing you enter leaves your device.

This is a symptom screen, not a diagnosis. It's deliberately sensitive, so a positive result is common and points to a simple blood test — not a verdict about you.

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What low testosterone is, and what this screen can't tell you

Testosterone is the main male sex hormone, and a genuinely low level with symptoms — low sex drive, weaker erections, fatigue, low mood, loss of strength — is a recognized, treatable condition called hypogonadism. Levels drift down slowly with age, but age alone isn't the same as a deficiency that needs treating.

The catch is that the ADAM's symptoms are non-specific. Low energy, poor sleep, low mood, and reduced drive are caused by stress, depression, poor sleep, thyroid problems, and dozens of other things far more often than by low testosterone. That's why this questionnaire is built to be sensitive, not specific: it catches almost everyone who might have low T, and in doing so flags many men whose levels are perfectly normal.

So a positive screen isn't a diagnosis, or even strong evidence on its own. It's a reason to get a simple morning blood test, which is the only thing that can actually confirm or rule out low testosterone.

What confirms it

Only a blood test can confirm low testosterone

If the screen flags a pattern worth checking, here's what actually settles it — and what a clinician does next.

A morning blood test

Testosterone peaks in the morning, so the total-testosterone level is drawn before ~10–11 a.m. — and repeated on a second morning, because levels swing day to day.

Levels plus symptoms

A diagnosis needs both consistently low blood levels and symptoms. Low numbers with no symptoms, or symptoms with normal numbers, usually aren't treated as low T.

Finding the cause

If levels are low, a clinician may check free testosterone, LH/FSH, and prolactin to sort out why — sometimes a treatable cause (sleep, weight, medications, pituitary) is behind it.

Treatment, if it fits

Confirmed low T with symptoms can be treated with testosterone therapy, weighed against risks like fertility. It's a shared decision made after testing, not before.

Low sex drive and weaker erections have many causes beyond hormones. If erections are the main concern, our erectile-function screen (IIEF-5) is a good companion, and a new change in your sex life is also a reason to rule out an infection.

When to get help

When it's worth seeing a clinician

Low drive or weaker erections

A real, persistent drop in sex drive or erection strength is worth checking — for low testosterone and for the many other, often more common, causes.

Fatigue, low mood, lost strength

When several of these show up together and don't lift, they deserve a proper look. A blood test can quickly include or exclude low T among the causes.

A clear change from your normal

Symptoms that came on over months, especially in midlife, are worth a conversation — not because age caused them, but because a treatable cause might have.

You want an answer

You don't need to hit a threshold to ask. A primary-care doctor, urologist, or endocrinologist can order the test and interpret it with you.

Be cautious of online sellers that diagnose "low T" from a questionnaire alone and sell testosterone without proper blood testing and monitoring — confirmation and follow-up matter. A primary-care doctor is a fine place to start.

Next steps

Related checks and care

Erectile function (IIEF-5)

A validated screen for erectile difficulty — a common companion to low drive and worth checking together.

Premature ejaculation (PEDT)

The validated screen for how likely PE is, with what your score means and what helps.

Symptom checker

Match symptoms like discharge, pain, or sores to what might be worth testing for.

Find testing & care

Clinics, at-home kits, and free options if a change in your sex life makes you want to rule out an infection.

Sources

Where this comes from

The ten questions and the positive-screen rule reproduce the published, validated ADAM questionnaire (Morley et al., 2000), a public-domain screening instrument. The guidance on how low testosterone is confirmed and treated follows the American Urological Association and Endocrine Society guidelines and Cleveland Clinic patient information. We don't reinterpret the instrument; we present it and its published scoring, and we're explicit that only a blood test can confirm the diagnosis.

Medically Reviewed & Fact-Checked · Updated July 2026

Reviewed by EasySTD Editorial Team

Compiled and checked by EasySTD's editorial team against CDC and public-health sources. This is educational information, not a substitute for advice from a licensed clinician. Our editorial guidelines →

4 Sources

Data & references

Morley JE, et al. Validation of a screening questionnaire for androgen deficiency in aging males (ADAM). Metabolism, 2000https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10945175/
American Urological Association: Evaluation and Management of Testosterone Deficiency (guideline)https://www.auanet.org/guidelines-and-quality/guidelines/testosterone-deficiency-guideline
Endocrine Society: Testosterone Therapy in Men With Hypogonadism (clinical practice guideline)https://www.endocrine.org/clinical-practice-guidelines/testosterone-therapy-in-men-with-hypogonadism
Cleveland Clinic: Low Testosterone (Male Hypogonadism)https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15603-low-testosterone-male-hypogonadism

EasySTD is an information and comparison directory, not a healthcare provider. This tool is general information based on a published, validated screener: it is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a test result, and it does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Only a blood test can confirm low testosterone. If a concern bothers you, talk with a licensed clinician.

Good to Know

Low testosterone & the ADAM screen: frequently asked questions

What low T is, what the ADAM measures, why a positive screen isn't a diagnosis, how it's confirmed, and how private this is.

What is low testosterone (hypogonadism)?

Low testosterone — sometimes called low T or male hypogonadism — means the body isn't making enough of the main male sex hormone. It can cause low sex drive, weaker erections, fatigue, low mood, loss of muscle and strength, and poor concentration. Testosterone naturally declines slowly with age, but a genuinely low level with symptoms is a recognized medical condition that can be treated. The catch is that the symptoms are non-specific — they overlap heavily with stress, poor sleep, depression, thyroid problems, and other conditions — which is why a symptom screen alone can't confirm it and a blood test is needed.

What is the ADAM questionnaire?

The ADAM — Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male — is a brief, validated ten-question Yes/No screening tool developed by Morley and colleagues and published in 2000. A screen counts as positive if you answer 'yes' to question 1 (decreased sex drive) or question 7 (weaker erections), or 'yes' to any three of the other questions. It was designed to be highly sensitive — good at catching men who might have low testosterone — deliberately at the cost of specificity, meaning many men who screen positive turn out to have normal levels. It's a prompt to get a blood test, not a diagnosis.

I screened positive — do I have low testosterone?

Not necessarily. The ADAM is sensitive but not specific: a large share of men who screen positive have normal testosterone on blood testing. That's by design — it's meant to catch as many possible cases as it can, which means a lot of false positives. Its symptoms overlap with sleep loss, stress, depression, and other conditions. A positive screen means the pattern is worth checking, and the only way to know is a morning blood test measuring total (and sometimes free) testosterone, ideally repeated. Take the result as a reason to talk with a clinician, not a verdict.

How is low testosterone actually diagnosed?

With a blood test, not a questionnaire. Testosterone is highest in the morning, so the standard is a total testosterone level drawn before about 10–11 a.m., on at least two separate mornings, because levels fluctuate. If it's low, a clinician may add free testosterone, LH/FSH, prolactin, and other tests to work out the cause. A diagnosis of hypogonadism generally requires both consistently low blood levels and symptoms — one without the other usually isn't treated. Your primary-care doctor, a urologist, or an endocrinologist can order and interpret these.

Can low testosterone be treated?

Yes, when it's genuinely low and causing symptoms. Testosterone replacement therapy — gels, injections, patches, or pellets — can improve libido, energy, mood, and muscle in men with confirmed low levels, and a clinician will weigh the benefits against risks (including effects on fertility and other considerations) and monitor you over time. Sometimes an underlying cause — poor sleep, obesity, certain medications, thyroid or pituitary problems — can be treated directly and raise levels without replacement. Because it's not right for everyone, treatment is a decision to make with a clinician after testing confirms the diagnosis.

Is what I enter private?

Yes. This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are scored on your own device and are never sent to a server, saved, or shared — close the tab and they're gone. It's general educational information based on a published, validated screener; it can't diagnose you or replace a blood test and a conversation with a clinician.

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