Ear preference: association with other functional asymmetries of the ears.

The bases for the preferential use of one ear are not clear. We investigated ear preference, asymmetry on a dichotic listening test and acuity dominance (laterality of hearing loss) in a sample of 51 patients with mild high frequency hardness of hearing. There was a higher correlation between measured ear preference and the measured acuity dominance than between ear preference and dichotic listening, suggesting a certain peripheral (cochlear) base for the ear preference.