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Why does my guitar sound quieter after years of play?

Before you write an obituary for your guitar's tone, there's a much more boring, much more fixable explanation waiting in most cases: dead strings, humidity drift, or a setup that's quietly wandered out of spec over the years.

The usual suspects, in order of likelihood

• Old strings. Genuinely the most common cause of a guitar sounding flat and lifeless over time, and the cheapest thing to rule out. Dead strings lose brightness and sustain so gradually you don't notice the decline until a fresh set slaps you in the ear with the difference.
• Humidity changes. A top that's too dry or too damp doesn't vibrate efficiently, and that genuinely tanks perceived volume and resonance, not just structural health. Get yourself some humidity packs, or bring it in for an eval.
• Action creep. If action's crept up over the years, you might be unconsciously pressing harder or playing sloppier to compensate, quietly changing your tone without you clocking the actual cause. Plus, high action screws up your intonation. Your ear hears the guitar as perpetually “out”.
• Setup drift generally. Truss rod relief, saddle height, nut condition — small changes compound over years into a guitar that plays and sounds noticeably different from the one you brought home. Good setups give you good intonation, good tone and help you play better.

Is it ever the wood actually "wearing out"?

Some players and builders believe wood and finish keep changing tonally over years of vibration ("playing in"), usually in a good direction, not a bad one. A genuine decline in volume or tone is way more often explained by the fixable stuff above than by your guitar's wood mysteriously degrading.

It’s more likely that bad setup work is the culprit. Most notably, a low saddle. It’s common for amateur or box-store guitar techs to lower your saddle height to improve your action. This isn’t always wrong, but reducing break angle kills your tone. Break Angle • What is break angle?

Change the strings first. It's the cheapest test with the best odds of being the actual answer. If that doesn't fix it, a proper setup check — relief, action, humidity — is the next move before you start assuming something more serious is wrong.