Do Men and Women "Hear" Differently?

2020-06-29


Many women have complained that men don’t listen, but we don’t believe that is true. There IS evidence, however that men and women really do hear differently.

The first thing to note is that a study done at the Indiana University School of Medicine¹ shows via brain scans that men tend to listen primarily with one side of their brain, while women use both hemispheres. This makes a difference in how the brain processes and interprets sound.

"Our research suggests language processing is different between men and women, but it doesn't necessarily mean performance is going to be different," said Joseph T. Lurito, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine.¹ "We don't know if the difference is because of the way we're raised, or if it's hard-wired in the brain."

Men are five and a half times more likely to lose their hearing than women

According to a 2008 study from Johns Hopkins University,² men are five and a half times more likely to lose their hearing than women. This may be due to health factors, such as men tend to have higher instances of diseases, like heart disease and diabetes, that can contribute to hearing loss. In general, men to tend to work in jobs that are known to damage hearing, so those may be contributing factors. 
How men and women hear differently? And what helps?

Research, however, has found that women of all ages have better hearing at frequencies above 2,000 Hz, but, as they age, women are less able to hear low frequencies (1,000 – 2,000 Hz) than men. Women do have opportunities to help their risk of hearing loss.³ Studies show that more women eat well which may help to prevent hearing loss. 

Another interesting tidbit from AARP, men are more likely to NEED hearing aids (for reasons mentioned above), but women are more likely to WEAR theirs.

Regardless of gender, as you age, you should get a hearing assessment

Hearing is an essential sense for both men and women. Schedule a hearing assessment* with us today. We can determine what, if any, your level of hearing loss is, and make recommendations to improve it.