Julie Raney is a certified and licensed audiologist. She has a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a Master’s Degree in Audiology from Idaho State University. She has worked as a clinical audiologist in Colorado since 2005. She specializes in hearing amplification for adults and delivers her services in both English and Sign Language.

Looking at Differences in Sound Sensitivity

Everyone experiences sound a little differently, and your brain has a unique set of neural pathways that interpret all the sounds around you. As you age, your sensitivity to sounds change, and researchers have been looking at the differences in sound sensitivity between older and younger adults. One study by neuroscientists at Western University in Canada examined how we interpret and process sounds, and they tested brain activity and hearing in two groups of adults who were either in their 20s or 60s. Comparing how they experienced sounds gave the researchers a lot of insight into sound sensitivity.

“We looked at younger and older individuals who have clinically normal hearing and we looked at how the brain’s ability to adjust its sensitivity to sound levels is affected by aging,” explained Björn Herrmann, lead researcher of the study. “What we observed is that older individuals don’t adapt as well to their sound environment.” As part of the aging process, our brains aren’t able to separate sounds as easily as before, and we become too sensitive to the sounds around us, making it more difficult to hear in places with a lot of background noise.

Older Adults Have Increased Sensitivity to Sound

This study demonstrated that older and younger adults’ brains process sounds very differently. Seniors are far more sensitive to sounds, and don’t do a great job distinguishing between important sounds and background noises. Younger adults can easily filter out background noises, and are not as sensitive to all the sounds around them. They’re able to focus on what they want to hear and reduce their sensitivity to background sounds.

Older ears are sensitive to all the sounds in the environment, whether quiet or loud, and that could explain why seniors have such a hard time hearing in noisy places like a crowded restaurant or amphitheater. Their brains don’t separate important sounds from all the distracting sounds, and they remain sensitive to all the noise coming to their ears from all sides. This creates a lot of listening fatigue and listening stress, and the auditory cortex of older adults is overwhelmed by all the information flooding in.

This auditory sensitivity sheds light on why seniors have such a hard time hearing in places with a lot of background noise, such as their favorite coffee shop, a crowded music venue, or even in the park on a busy Saturday afternoon. Remaining sensitive to all the sounds around them, they’re not able to focus on what they want to hear, and are constantly distracted by the other sounds that are given equal importance by their auditory system. “It’s a fundamental property of the auditory system to be able to adjust really fast to any environment a person goes into,” says Herrmann. “If you cannot do that anymore, then in each situation your auditory system might be a little off. This means older individuals may be easily distracted and overwhelmed by sounds, or find them too loud.”

Hearing Aids Combat Sensitivity

If you’re a senior with sensitive ears, and you’ve been noticing that you can’t distinguish between important speech sounds and distracting background noise, hearing aids can help you hear clearly in complex listening environments. Today’s devices have advanced programs such as background noise reduction, speech enhancement, and directionality microphones that work together to help you focus on what you want to hear and tune out distracting background sounds that inhibit your ability to focus on the sounds that matter most.

New Leaf Hearing Clinic

At New Leaf Hearing Clinic, we’ll help you find the perfect devices to reduce your sensitivity to distracting noises, and help you hear the voices of your friends and loved ones even in the most challenging listening environments.