Our hearing decreases with age. Children and adolescents can still perceive high tones and no longer notice adults. Senior: inside the hearing aids should often understand their counterparts. But hearing depends on other factors. In the study of the University of Toulouse, researchers studied what other factors affect how well we hear.
Studying
For their research, scientists have collected data from 448 people from 13 groups of the population in Ecuador, England, Gabon, South Africa and Uzbekistan. To determine the performance of the hearing of the participants, measure the sensitivity of the audio -linen -SO -SHAREED COCHLEA.
This auditory organ consists of hair meaning cells that move as soon as the sound meets you. They create very quiet sounds that can be recorded using special microphones and, thus, check how well the ear works. Thus, the researchers created an individual profile of their sensitivity to the street for all participants. Then they checked the results of relations with physical factors such as gender or age, as well as external influences, such as the environment.
Women hear better than men
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Researchers found that on average women hear two decibels better than men. The difference that is not noticeable in everyday life. Therefore, women react more sensitive to tones in all frequency areas. As a possible explanation, the study mentions hormonal deviations or small anatomical differences in the snail. For example, women have a shorter ear canal, which makes them more sensitive to high frequencies.
Although such gender differences are already known to a small extent, scientists provide a second knowledge that is even more surprising. Environmental factors have a significant impact on our hearing. The difference between urban and rural inhabitants is most obvious: inside.
People in urban areas have learned to hide deep frequencies, such as street noise – this can reduce their sensitivity to similar steps in the perception of higher tones. How far people live above sea level, also plays a role. Residents: Inside very high areas, as a rule, they hear worse – presumably, because their oxygen content in the blood is lower.
What does it work?
Not only our genes, but also our environment affect how well we hear. This knowledge can help better understand the loss of hearing and individual noisy tolerance around the world. Researchers: inside suggest that their results can also be used in a very practical way: for better coordination of hearing aids with different groups of the population.