Auditory function in healthy young adults – Gender differences and the influence of physical fitness

In earlier publications we have described the hearing of Swedish 18-year old male conscripts. In the planned study we intend to analyze the hearing of a large group of healthy young Swedish men and women. During the years 2005 to 2010 10-55% of all 18-year old men (n: 48852) underwent conscription. Many women (n: 10095) also underwent conscription voluntarily. For comparison, 158237 18-20 year old men constituted a reference group. We have defined some questions. One is if there are demonstrable gender differences among healthy young adults, most of them with normal hearing. A main focus is to find out if good health and physical fitness are combined with excellent hearing. Parameters which will be studied are physical condition, muscular strength, BMI, and height. These parameters will be compared with pure tone audiometry.