Men Can't Hear Women?

**Everose** · 08-07-2005, 12:29 PM

LONDON (AFP) - Men who are accused of never listening by women now have an excuse -- women's voices are more difficult for men to listen to than other men's, a report said.

The Daily Mail, quoting findings published in the specialist magazine

NeuroImage, said researchers at Sheffield university in northern England discovered startling differences in the way the brain responds to male and female sounds.

Men deciphered female voices using the auditory part of the brain that processes music, while male voices engaged a simpler mechanism, it said.

The Mail quoted researcher Michael Hunter as saying, "The female voice is actually more complex than the male voice, due to differences in the size and shape of the vocal cords and larynx between men and women, and also due to women having greater natural 'melody' in their voices.

"This causes a more complex range of sound frequencies than in a male voice."

The findings may help explain why people suffering hallucinations usually hear male voices, the report added, as the brain may find it much harder to conjure up a false female voice accurately than a false male voice

Well, they have given men an excuse now to not hear women.

Does anyone think they may have helped out with this study?

My husband thought so, and seems to have considerable problems hearing me, stating my voice is too 'low' to hear sometimes.

I kind of liked this study. I told him that it isn't that my voice is too 'low', but apparently my voice is more complex and melodic than the male genders, but that maybe if he works on it he can train his brain to reach higher levels.

... ...

**vidcc** · 08-07-2005, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by Everose

If you are going to start a thread the least you could do is type something

Actually I find the female voice more pleasant and easier to listen to. This does of course depend on what's being said and often the accent. There are some accents that a male voice can carry off but female cannot.
If this study turns out to be completely valid I suggest it is not an excuse for men to not listen but instead a reason for men to put in more effort.

Perhaps the study money could have been better spent figuring out if a woman says something and there isn't a man around to hear her, is she still wrong?

**Busyman** · 08-07-2005, 04:03 PM

I tell my girlfriend all the time that shes need to speak up and to add to that she trails off.

I think men hear women though. They know when they are speaking and choose to ignore them. Now whether they can make out exactly what they are saying is another matter.

**ziggyjuarez** · 08-07-2005, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by Busyman

I tell my girlfriend

**Everose** · 08-07-2005, 07:00 PM

Well, guys, I have been thinking about this some. I am thinking it is just a situational thing. Usually when he can't hear me, we are in the car with music blaring or something. It takes a lot of energy to talk loud, so I don't normally do it.

Guess maybe I should reach over and turn the radio down before I say something important. Mostly in the car, I can get him to listen with body language alone. You know, like freezing up and grabbing the arm rests in fear, using the foot as a brake, and such.

So I wonder if women have trouble hearing men. I don't. I always hear them, I am just a bit bad about not always listening.

It seems to me that is pretty situational, too. I can hear him fine over music in the car, but do not encourage deep conversations in the car. What happens then is that he gets involved in giving me his opinon on something, and I can't listen very good because I, at that time, have to do most of the watching traffic since he is not.

I am bad about listening when I am doing something else, such as reading. At that point, I am embarassed to say, I only hear him, but don't really listen as I should. Shame on me.........I will try to do better!

I am thinking I will test this to see if it is the same with him. Next time he sits down to read the paper, I will wait until he is good and engrossed in it and I will say 'My right arm turned black and fell off today'.

If he stops reading and looks at me and says 'What did you say?' I will know he is hearing me fine.

If he keeps reading and says 'cool', or some such thing, I will know it is a situational listening thing.

**Busyman** · 08-07-2005, 09:49 PM

Originally Posted by Everose

Well, guys, I have been thinking about this some. I am thinking it is just a situational thing. Usually when he can't hear me, we are in the car with music blaring or something. It takes a lot of energy to talk loud, so I don't normally do it.

Guess maybe I should reach over and turn the radio down before I say something important. Mostly in the car, I can get him to listen with body language alone. You know, like freezing up and grabbing the arm rests in fear, using the foot as a brake, and such.

So I wonder if women have trouble hearing men. I don't. I always hear them, I am just a bit bad about not always listening.

It seems to me that is pretty situational, too. I can hear him fine over music in the car, but do not encourage deep conversations in the car. What happens then is that he gets involved in giving me his opinon on something, and I can't listen very good because I, at that time, have to do most of the watching traffic since he is not.

I am bad about listening when I am doing something else, such as reading. At that point, I am embarassed to say, I only hear him, but don't really listen as I should. Shame on me.........I will try to do better!

I am thinking I will test this to see if it is the same with him. Next time he sits down to read the paper, I will wait until he is good and engrossed in it and I will say 'My right arm turned black and fell off today'.

If he stops reading and looks at me and says 'What did you say?' I will know he is hearing me fine.

If he keeps reading and says 'cool', or some such thing, I will know it is a situational listening thing.

Damn you sure said alot and I can't be bothered to read all that shit.

Anyway I think women are less direct and don't talk with a purpose enough.

Come again Everose?

**Busyman** · 08-07-2005, 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by j2k4

Originally Posted by Everose

Well, guys, I have been thinking about this some. I am thinking it is just a situational thing. Usually when he can't hear me, we are in the car with music blaring or something. It takes a lot of energy to talk loud, so I don't normally do it.

Guess maybe I should reach over and turn the radio down before I say something important. Mostly in the car, I can get him to listen with body language alone. You know, like freezing up and grabbing the arm rests in fear, using the foot as a brake, and such.

So I wonder if women have trouble hearing men. I don't. I always hear them, I am just a bit bad about not always listening.

It seems to me that is pretty situational, too. I can hear him fine over music in the car, but do not encourage deep conversations in the car. What happens then is that he gets involved in giving me his opinon on something, and I can't listen very good because I, at that time, have to do most of the watching traffic since he is not.

I am bad about listening when I am doing something else, such as reading. At that point, I am embarassed to say, I only hear him, but don't really listen as I should. Shame on me.........I will try to do better!

I am thinking I will test this to see if it is the same with him. Next time he sits down to read the paper, I will wait until he is good and engrossed in it and I will say 'My right arm turned black and fell off today'.

If he stops reading and looks at me and says 'What did you say?' I will know he is hearing me fine.

If he keeps reading and says 'cool', or some such thing, I will know it is a situational listening thing.

Sorry-I missed that-could you repeat, please?

What's really funny is that I really stopped reading after the second sentence.