Gender differences in optimal listening levels and loudness perception

The experimental measurement of optimal listening levels for various sounds, such as music, has shown that male participants tend to adjust their optimal listening levels higher than their did female counterparts do. This gender difference for reproduced sounds might be affected by the gender difference in loudness perception. To examine gender differences in loudness perception, we conducted rating experiments of the loudness of various sounds. These experiments revealed that female participants assigned higher loudness scores than did males for the same sound. We also found that the difference in optimal loudness between male and female participants was approximately equal to their difference in optimal listening levels. To confirm the factors affecting the gender difference in loudness perception, rating experiments of loudness were conducted using an interval scale and a ratio scale. A gender difference was observed regardless of the range of sound pressure levels or the number of steps in the verbal interval scale. However, this difference was not clearly observed when a ratio scale, i.e., magnitude estimation, was used for evaluation of loudness. Gender differences in loudness judgments may actually reflect differences in the use of verbal expression rather than differences in perception of intensity.