Age-related hearing loss affects high frequencies most and strikes men more than women

Evidence

This reduction in the upper frequency limit of the hearing range is accompanied by a decline in hearing sensitivity at all frequencies with age, the decline being less for low frequencies than for high as shown in Figure 2.11 (consider track 2 on the accompanying CD). The figure also shows that this natural loss of hearing sensitivity and loss of upper frequencies is more marked for men than for women. Hearing losses can also be induced by other factors such as prolonged exposure to loud sounds (see section 2.5), particularly with some of the high sound levels now readily available from electronic amplification systems, whether reproduced via loudspeakers or particularly via headphones. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 603

This reduction in the upper frequency limit of the hearing range is accompanied by a decline in hearing sensitivity at all frequencies with age, the decline being less for low frequencies than for high as shown in Figure 2.10 (consider track 2 on the accompanying CD). The figure also shows that this natural loss of hearing sensitivity and loss of upper frequencies is more marked for men than for women. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 588

Categorization

• SHARE: Worth sharing with anyone who listens to loud music through headphones — the specific mention that headphone use accelerates hearing loss is a concrete, personal fact.
• XREF: Connects to noise-injury discussion in One Square Inch of Silence about noise being a danger signal; also to general understanding of acoustic ecology. — connects to: Preferred treble level rises 3 dB per decade of age over 30; Age-related hearing loss directly causes increased preferred treble; Hearing loss that harms multichannel dialogue clarity can begin as early as age 30. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1440 (+2 more)
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 603; David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 588

Broader Connections

• Age-related presbycusis limits high-frequency hearing by the mid-twenties #expands (0.85)
• Human upper hearing range collapses above 16 kHz during the twenties #expands (0.80)