Age and sex differences in latencies of waves I, III and V in auditory brainstem response of normal hearing subjects.

Latencies of auditory brainstem response are known to be affected by age and sex. We have investigated the effects of age and sex on absolute latencies of waves I, III and V, the interpeaks intervals I-V, I-III and III-V for left and right ears in 67 healthy subjects with normal hearing. We evaluated the reproducibility of the response between ears which showed consistent data. Latency-intensity plots for waves I, III and V were compared among men and women by estimating the regression equations, with no significant difference in the slopes. Regression analysis revealed that latencies of waves I and V were increased with age in men from childhood up to fifties, according to a linear function. However, in women latencies were not dependent on age. The intervals I-V, I-III and III-V were independent on age for both men and women. The latencies of waves III and V and the I-III and I-V intervals were significantly shorter in women than in men in both ears. The findings obtained in the present study show that gender have a stronger effect on latencies of waves III and V, shortening the I-III and I-V intervals in women. Moreover, latencies of waves I and V increase with age in men.