title: Hearing asymmetry among left-handed and right-handed persons in a random population.
abstract: The possible effect of handedness on hearing threshold asymmetry was analysed in a large random population representing a normal population. The left ear was on an average slightly but significantly poorer than the right ear at high frequencies, especially at 4 kHz, while at low frequencies the right ear was on average poorer than the left ear. A matched control group of the right-handed subjects was formed for 211 left-handed subjects. Among the left-handed subjects the average ear asymmetry resembled the ear asymmetry of the whole population, the right-handed subpopulation, and of the matched control group. In conclusion, it seems that handedness cannot be responsible for the average inferiority of hearing in the left ear at 4-kHz or for the average slight superiority of the left ear at 0.125-0.5 kHz. However, this analysis does not rule out possible minor effects of handedness on ear asymmetry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pirilä
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jounio-Ervasti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sorri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001299:Audiometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009623:Noise, Occupational