Comparison of the auditory systems of heterosexuals and homosexuals: click-evoked otoacoustic emissions.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional comparative study comparing physiological markers across self-identified sexual orientation groups.
PubMed 9482952 · doi:10.1073/pnas.95.5.2709
What was done
Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs)—cochlear response waveforms that are normally stronger in females than in males—were measured and compared across individuals categorized by sex and sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual individuals).
What was found
The abstract provides no numerical data, sample sizes, or test statistics. It reports that CEOAEs in homosexual and bisexual females were intermediate between those of heterosexual females and heterosexual males. No difference in CEOAEs was detected between homosexual and heterosexual males.
Why it matters
This study provides physiological evidence consistent with the hypothesis that prenatal androgen exposure may influence both peripheral auditory characteristics and sexual orientation in females.
Limits
The abstract reports no sample sizes, effect sizes, variance measures, or statistical significance levels. The design is observational and cannot directly measure prenatal androgen exposure, establishing an association with a proxy marker rather than a direct causal mechanism.
Cited by
- supports Dennis McFadden reported that lesbian women produce fewer spontaneous otoacoustic emissions than heterosexual women.