In daily life, hearing is crucial. Although the sensitivity of hearing tends to decrease with age, a study in the UK has found that gender is the primary factor explaining differences in hearing sensitivity. Among both genders, women generally have much better hearing sensitivity than men.
In an international study led by Dr. Patricia Balaresque of the Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research in France, researchers conducted hearing tests on 448 healthy individuals from Ecuador, the UK, Cambodia, South Africa, and Uzbekistan.
The researchers tested the sensitivity of the participants’ inner ear cochlea by measuring Transient-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions to observe how the cochlea transmits brain signals in response to different sound amplitudes and frequencies.
It is commonly known that hearing in the right ear is usually better than the left, and hearing tends to decrease with age. However, the researchers were surprised by the results regarding the impact of gender and environment.
The study revealed that gender has a greater impact on hearing sensitivity than age. Across all the study populations mentioned, women had an average hearing sensitivity 2 decibels higher than men.
The second most significant influencing factor was found to be the environment. People living in forested areas exhibited the highest hearing sensitivity, while those residing in high-altitude regions had the lowest sensitivity.
Researchers found that factors such as population, environment, and language significantly influence hearing differences among human populations. Yet, it remains unclear whether this is due to the overall impact of the environment on the body, adaptation to different soundscapes and noise levels, or exposure to pollution.
They suggest that individuals living in forests may have higher sensitivity because they have adapted to soundscapes with a significant presence of non-human sounds, where staying alert in the forest is crucial for survival. This could also be attributed to their exposure to lower levels of pollution.
On the other hand, individuals living in high-altitude areas may have lower sensitivity due to various reasons, including the impact of lower atmospheric pressure, sounds weakening in high-altitude environments, or physiological adaptation to lower oxygen levels.
Furthermore, researchers discovered differences between urban and rural populations. Urban dwellers tended to hear higher-frequency sounds, potentially due to the filtering out of low-frequency traffic noise by the ears.
Balaresque commented, “Our research results challenge existing assumptions, emphasizing the need to consider biological and environmental factors in studying hearing.”
She stated, “Understanding the driving factors behind natural variations in hearing will enhance our understanding of individual differences in hearing loss and noise tolerance.”
Professor Turi King, who participated in this study at the University of Leicester in the UK and currently works at the University of Bath, mentioned that women have 2 decibels higher hearing sensitivity than men, possibly due to slight differences in cochlear structure between genders developed in the womb due to exposure to different hormones.
King remarked, “Aside from having higher hearing sensitivity, women also perform better in other hearing tests and speech perception, indicating that their brains are more adept at processing information.”
She added, “We truly do not know why this is the case, but considering the adverse effects of noise on overall health, such as reducing sleep quality and increasing cardiovascular diseases, having more sensitive hearing in noisy environments may not always be beneficial.”
She also mentioned that the next question they aim to explore is whether people’s auditory perception can change based on different environments or if it involves genetic adaptation.
The results of the aforementioned study were published on March 26 in the journal “Scientific Reports.”