Gender, Age, and Hearing

ABSTRACT

Evidence exists suggesting that the nature of presbycusis may differ between men and women. The most notable and well-researched gender difference is for pure-tone thresholds: older men have substantially more high-frequency hearing loss and slightly less low-frequency hearing loss, as compared with older women. Although the differential amount of high-frequency hearing loss can be primarily attributed to greater noise exposure in men, the low-frequency difference is not easily explained by experiential factors. Moreover, the pattern of hearing loss over time also differs between men and women. Other gender differences in auditory function, noted as early as childhood, appear to be endogenous in nature. An increasing body of evidence suggests that some of these gender differences may be based on hormonal factors.

KEYWORD

Aging - hearing - speech recognition - presbycusis - gender differences

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