(© siro46 – stock.adobe.com)

TOULOUSE, France — If you’ve ever noticed women picking up whispered conversations that men seem to miss, science has finally confirmed your observation. Researchers spanning five countries have discovered that biological sex—not age—is the dominant factor in hearing sensitivity, with women’s ears capturing sounds approximately two decibels more effectively than men’s.

The study also demonstrates how the sounds surrounding you throughout life physically reshape which frequencies your ears prioritize.

For decades, researchers have attributed hearing differences primarily to factors like age, noise exposure, and genetics. But this new research shows that where you live and whether you’re male or female play much bigger roles in determining what you hear than previously thought.

The research team, headed by Dr. Patricia Balaresque from France’s Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research (CRBE) in Toulouse and including Professor Turi King from the University of Bath, collected data from 448 healthy individuals across 13 populations in five countries: Ecuador, England, Gabon, South Africa, and Uzbekistan. These populations spanned dramatically different environments, from high-altitude Andean villages to tropical forests and urban centers.

Using a specialized technique called Transient-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAE), which measures how the inner ear responds to sound, the team discovered patterns that defied conventional expectations about human hearing.

Women consistently showed higher hearing sensitivity than men—not just at specific frequencies as previous research had suggested, but across the entire frequency spectrum tested. The difference averaged about 2 decibels, with some populations showing gaps of up to 6 decibels at certain frequencies.

Why Do Women Hear Better Than Men?

The researchers propose several possible explanations for women’s superior hearing sensitivity. One hypothesis involves prenatal hormone exposure. Previous studies have suggested that varying levels of androgen exposure during development in the womb may influence the development of the auditory system differently in males and females.

“This could be due to different exposure to hormones during development in the womb, due to men and women having slight structural differences in cochlear anatomy,” Professor King explains.

Indeed, research has shown subtle but meaningful anatomical differences in the cochlea between men and women in both European and African populations. These structural variations, while small, may contribute to the observed differences in hearing sensitivity.

The superior hearing in women extends beyond simple sensitivity. The study notes that women typically perform better in a range of auditory tests, including speech perception, suggesting that the advantage isn’t limited to the ear itself but may involve superior neural processing of auditory information in the brain. This comprehensive advantage raises interesting evolutionary questions about why women might have developed more sensitive hearing across human populations worldwide.

How Landscapes Shape Our Ears

The environment around us appears to physically shape our hearing capabilities. People living in protected forest environments, where natural sounds predominate and human-made noise is minimal, demonstrated significantly higher hearing sensitivity than those in high-altitude regions. The difference was substantial—5 to 7 decibels—indicating that our acoustic surroundings may fundamentally alter how our ears process sound.

Even more fascinating: environment exclusively influenced the frequency range people could perceive most effectively, while both biological and environmental factors affected how sensitively people could hear within those ranges. Urban populations showed shifts toward higher frequencies in their hearing profiles compared to rural populations, possibly as an adaptation to filter out the low-frequency traffic noise common in cities.

The differences between populations living in protected forest environments versus those in high-altitude regions of Ecuador were particularly revealing. Those in tropical environments with rich natural sounds and minimal human-generated noise showed heightened sensitivity.

The researchers suggest this could be because they’ve adapted to soundscapes with lots of non-human sounds, where vigilance is essential for survival. It might also be due to lower exposure to pollution.

Conversely, rural populations living at high altitudes demonstrated reduced hearing sensitivity. This reduced sensitivity could result from several factors, including the impact of lower atmospheric pressure on measurements, potential sound reduction in high-altitude environments, or physiological adaptations to lower oxygen levels.

Which Ear Is Stronger?

The research, published in Scientific Reports, also confirmed several other patterns. Hearing sensitivity gradually decreases between ages 18 and 55, with a more pronounced decline beginning around age 35. The right ear maintains a slight but consistent advantage across all populations—a trait that appears universal regardless of ethnicity, ecological context, or language.

Understanding these variations could inform more tailored approaches to diagnosing and treating hearing issues across diverse populations and environments.

“Identifying drivers behind natural hearing variation will improve our understanding of hearing loss and individual differences in noise tolerance,” explains Dr. Balaresque.

Adds King: “We know that humans are continuing to evolve so the next question is whether our hearing is able to change in response to different environments generally or whether there are genetic adaptations involved.”