Gender differences in just noticeable differences of sound pressure level

Gender differences in perceived loudness have been reported in prior studies. However, the factors affecting these gender differences has not been clarified. In this study, we focus on gender differences in auditory processing as a potential contributing factor. The just noticeable differences (JNDs) of sound were measured and gender differences were discussed. The participants were twenty university students (10 males, 10 females) with normal hearing. Experimental stimuli were white noise and 1/3-octave band noises with center frequencies at 250, 1,000, and 4,000 Hz. Sound pressure levels of reference sound were adjusted to 40, 50, 60, and 70 dB and evaluate stimuli presented at random at levels of difference from the reference sound pressure level of ±0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 4.0. As a result, no gender differences were clearly observed in the experiment using white noise as the sound stimuli, however, female participants showed significantly smaller JNDs than male participants in conditions of higher sound pressure level and higher frequencies for 1/3-octave band noises. These results indicate that there might be the gender differences in early sensory encoding of sound intensity, and it might cause the gender differences in loudness perception.