Women don't always have a leg up when it comes to hearing. In fact, while they generally have better hearing when it comes to frequencies above 2,000 Hz, they're less able to hear frequencies of 1,000 to 2,000 Hz.
Women May Have Better Hearing
In numerous hearing tests, some hearing clinics have found that their female patients — across all ages — are able to hear at frequencies above 2,000 Hz. However, as women age, they were found to have more difficulty hearing low frequencies (1,000 — 2,000 Hz) compared to men.
Regardless of sex, right ears are more sensitive than left to auditory stimuli and females have, on average, greater hearing sensitivity than males (see McFadden, 1998 for review).
Unless you have a hearing impairment, most people can hear around 8,000 Hz. But over 50s will struggle to pick up anything above 12,000 Hz. If you can hear 17,400 Hz, you're either a teenager – or superhuman.
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD), men are twice as likely to experience hearing loss. The NIDCD also reported that men are less likely to talk about their hearing loss.
Males have six times greater the amount of gray matter while women have ten times more white matter than men. A heavier reliance on gray matter helps men with localized tasks, while extra white matter assists women with language and communication. This means that women are more sensitive to sound compared to men.
Registering frequencies
Women don't always have a leg up when it comes to hearing. In fact, while they generally have better hearing when it comes to frequencies above 2,000 Hz, they're less able to hear frequencies of 1,000 to 2,000 Hz.
The frequency of a sound is proportional to its pitch. An adult man's voice has a lower pitch than the voices of a baby boy, a baby girl, and a woman. So a man has a minimum frequency. Among this group, a baby girl's voice has the highest pitch.
205 subjects each chose a "most pleasant" sound delivered through an earphone by turning the control knob on a continuously variable audio oscillator. Most subjects chose a frequency in a relatively narrow (approximately 350 Hz) band centered on 399 Hz.
High frequency sound causes two types of health effects: on the one hand objective health effects such as hearing loss (in case of protracted exposure) and on the other hand subjective effects which may already occur after a few minutes: headache, tinnitus, fatigue, dizziness and nausea.
Abstract. An estimated 8 million women in the US have difficulty hearing, and 2 million of those are able to hear, at best, only shouted words. Women of all ages have better hearing than men at frequencies above 2000Hz.
Studies have found that the female body has a more intense natural response to painful stimuli, indicating a difference between genders in the way pain systems function. A greater nerve density present in women may cause them to feel pain more intensely than men.
Research has suggested that women express emotions more frequently than men on average. Multiple researchers have found that women cry more frequently, and for longer durations than men at similar ages.
The average range for an adult woman is 165 – 255 Hz, and a man's voice range is usually 85-155 Hz.
Typical values obtained for F0 are 120 Hz for men and 210 Hz for women.
The Frequencies We Can Hear
During a conversation, the fundamental frequency of a typical adult man ranges from 80 to 180 Hz and that of a typical adult woman from 165 to 255 Hz.
What's so special about 432 Hz you might ask? Well, according to some music theorists, it's the frequency at which the universe vibrates. Listening to a sound at 432 Hz is especially pleasing to the ear, and said to reduce stress and promote emotional stability by putting you in sync with the “heartbeat of the Earth.”
Researchers claim that they feel calmer, happier and more relaxed when playing and listening at 432 Hz. Continuously listening music based on 440 Hz blocks the energy whereas by lowering the pitch by just 8 Hz makes us more joyful & relaxed.
Researchers say this spike in emotional activity heightened people's perception of annoying sounds compared with soothing ones, like bubbling water or a baby laughing. The study also shows that sounds in the higher-frequency range of around 2,000 to 5,000 Hz were rated as most unpleasant.
Difference between male and female vocal cords
Females have small vocal tracts and longer and thinner vocal cords. This gives their voices a naturally higher frequency.
The vibrations and the speed at which they vibrate are dependent on the length and thickness of vocal cords. Women have higher pitches than men as they have shorter vocal cords.
Women have shorter vocal cords which vibrate more quickly and produce a higher pitch, while in men the longer vocal cords vibrate with low frequencies giving them deeper voice. Thus, women have high-pitched or shriller voice as compared to men.
In studies examining connections within the brain, it has been found that women tend to have stronger connections side to side, which could lead to better intuitive thinking, analyzing, and drawing of conclusions.
The number of women experiencing work-related stress is 50% higher than for men of the same age, the data shows.
Much research has shown that women are more empathic than men. Yet, women and men are equally forgiving. However, it is not clear whether empathy is more important to forgiveness for men or for women.