Is there a 'male menopause'?

As males reach their 40s and 50s, they may start to experience erectile dysfunction and declines in their sex drive, all while they produce less and less testosterone. These changes may sound akin to those that arise during perimenopause and menopause, the time windows that lead up to and then follow a female's last menstrual period.

Given these similarities, could this mean there's a "male menopause"? 

Not really, an expert told Live Science — although the changes that aging males experience can still affect their quality of life.

Although middle-aged males describe symptoms similar to those that females experience during menopause, including hot flashes, calling these experiences "male menopause" would not be accurate.

Related: Why do women tend to outlive men?

The hormone-making functions of a male's testes and a female's ovaries decline with age, but in the case of females, this happens abruptly — over the course of a couple of years. In males, this age-related decline is more gradual, taking several decades. The key hormone made by the testes is testosterone, the primary male sex hormone that's responsible for supporting sexual development and function.  

"Andropause" is a nonmedical term that's often used to describe the declining testosterone levels seen in aging men, Dr. Jesse Mills, director of the Men's Clinic at UCLA Health, told Live Science in an email.