The Effects of Reproductive Hormones on Speech-evoked Auditory Brainstem Response in Young Adults / 听力学及言语疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the correlation between reproductive hormone concentration and the amplitude and latency of speech-evoked auditory brainstem response (speech-ABR) in young adults, and to explore the effects of reproductive hormone on the speech processing ability of young people.Methods Speech-ABR of thirty five normal hearing young adults, including seventeen females (27.29±1.83 years old) and eighteen males (28.17±2.50 years old) were recorded.The speech syllable /da/ was transmitted as a stimulus sound to the right ears through insert earphones in speech-ABR test.All participants had air conduction hearing thresholds of 20 dB HL or better across the standard audiometric frequencies (250~8 000 Hz) in both ears, and click-ABRs were also within normal limits.At the same time, the concentrations of estradiol and testosterone in the serum were examined.Results ① Females had a shorter latency than males in transient responses (waves V, A and O) and sustained responses (waves D, E and F) of speech-ABR (P0.05).The V/A slope in females was significantly steeper than that in males (P0.05), and the correlation between wave E and wave F and total testosterone concentration was weakly correlated (P0.05).Conclusion There are correlations between the level of reproductive hormone and the amplitude and latency of speech-ABR.It is one of the reasons for the gender difference in the brainstem speech coding ability of normal young adult.