In a message dated 11/4/99 2:55:44 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Subj: Student questions d'jour
> Date: 11/4/99 2:55:44 PM Eastern Standard Time
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Weisskirch, Rob)
> Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]">rweisskirc
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> (Weisskirch, Rob)
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ('TIPS')
>
> Today, I had some very interesting student questions in class:
>
> 1. One student claimed that she heard the cochlea (yes, in the ear) was
> larger and more "man-like" in lesbian women. She admitted that this had
> nothing to do with sexual behavior but that she had heard this. Anyone
> heard of this one?
Rob -
I have never heard of 'size' differences in the cochlea, but the following
summary of otoacoustic emissions may related to what your student heard/read
about. . . A reference to the original publication concerning the direct
comparison of OAE's across sexual preference is also below.
Under certain conditions the inner ear will produce sounds known as
otoacoustic emissions (OAE's). These OAE's are indirectly related to hearing
ability. Strong OAE's are associated with better hearing of weak sounds in
quiet environments. When presented with a weak click sound (like the snap of
a light switch), the inner ear makes an echo-like OAE. It has been establish
some time ago that these click-evoked OAE's are stronger in women and girls
than in men and boys. Women indeed have slightly better hearing sensitivity
than men on average. A very recent study of the click-evoked OAE in
homosexual and bisexual women indicates that this response differs for these
groups when compared with heterosexual women. Their response and (and
therefore probably their hearing sensitivity) lies intermediate to that of
heterosexual women and men. The click-evoked OAE response of homosexual and
bisexual men does not differ from that of heterosexual men. In other
research it has been demonstrated that women having a male twin also have
OAE's that are male-like in characteristics. Suggesting that exposure of the
female fetus to higher levels of intrauterine testosterone prior to birth may
masculinize the inner ears. Based on this research, it appears that both the
inner ears and brain structures responsible for sexual preference have been
masculinized in homo- and bisexual women. This research showing group
differences suggests that OAE's may be used to study certain aspects of brain
development and sexual differentiation in a non-invasive fashion. It is
important to note, however, that the strength of OAE's varies across
individuals and cannot be used to categorize individuals.
_____________________________________________
J Acoust Soc Am 1999 Apr;105(4):2403-13
Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions in heterosexuals, homosexuals, and
bisexuals.
McFadden D, Pasanen EG
Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin 78712, USA.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) were previously shown to be
significantly less strong in homosexual and bisexual females than in
heterosexual females. Here it is reported that the spontaneous otoacoustic
emissions (SOAEs) of those same 60 homosexual and bisexual females were less
numerous and weaker than those in 57 heterosexual females. That is, the SOAEs
of the homosexual and bisexual females were intermediate to those of
heterosexual females and heterosexual males. The SOAE and CEOAE data both
suggest that the cochleas of homosexual and bisexual females have been
partially masculinized, possibly as part of some prenatal processes that also
masculinized whatever brain structures are responsible for sexual
orientation. For males of all sexual orientation, the SOAEs were less
numerous and weaker than for the females, and there were no significant
differences among the 56 heterosexual, 51 homosexual, and 11 bisexual males.
All subjects passed a hearing screening test. When all SOAEs above 3000 Hz
were excluded (as a control against incipient, undetected hearing loss) the
same results were obtained as with the full range of data (550-9000 Hz). The
differential use of oral contraceptives by the heterosexual and
nonheterosexual females also could not explain the differences in their OAEs.
PMID: 10212421, UI: 99228891
Sandra Nagel Randall
SVSU, MI
Athabasca U, Alberta
