Sex-specific differences in self-reported speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing abilities

To investigate sex-specific effects in self-reported auditory abilities using an adapted version of the Speech, Spatial and Qualities (SSQ) questionnaire.

Three mixed-model analyses of variance were performed, one for each questionnaire section, using rationalised arcsine unit-transformed scores. Fifty-one females and 39 males with normal or near-normal hearing.

Females gave significantly higher (better) scores for: (i) four speech questions, indicating less difficulty following two targets or a conversation when many people are talking, and conversing while ignoring an interfering voice with the same pitch as the talker, (ii) seven qualities questions, indicating less difficulty hearing sounds clearly, or stimuli sounding natural, judging mood, and finding it less effortful to concentrate when listening to or ignoring sounds. For both groups, scores were lowest for situations involving following two targets, judging distances, ignoring competing sounds and concentrating.

While the observed female advantage for several speech and qualities questions is consistent with performance-based findings in the literature, the lack of male advantage for spatial questions is not. Results show a previously unreported advantage for females in situations involving concentration and listening effort, with implications for educational settings, where male students might benefit from lip-reading in noisy environments.