Influence of age, sex, and hearing loss on auditory brain stem response (ABR) latencies

In a previous paper, the hypothesis was established that the shorter auditory brain stem response (ABR) latencies in females, in comparison with males, can be explained solely by the age dependence of the latencies, which is more pronounced in males than in females. According to this concept, ABR latencies in male and female babies are identical but diverge increasingly with increasing age. A multiple regression analysis on considerably enlarged male and female groups has now confirmed the hypothesis as to the differing age dependence in males and females. But the results also show that the male/female ABR latency differences cannot be explained solely by these differences in age dependence. An additional factor has to be taken into account, for which the male/female difference in auditory pathway length is a plausible explanation.