Hard-of-hearing Music Fans Prefer a Different Sound

Researchers recently studied the impact of hearing loss on subjects' enjoyment of different music mixes. They played different music mixes to listeners with and without hearing loss and found that those with hearing loss preferred louder lead vocals, higher frequencies, and sparser mixes with fewer frequencies overall. Previous research has found that music steadily shifted to quieter vocals and louder instrumentals leading up to 1975, meaning today's music may be less accessible to those with hearing loss.