Men with deep voice may be lacking in sperm: study

(Medical Xpress) -- Women look for tall, dark and handsome. Those chiseled features and that deep sexy voice have gained the attention of women for generations. However, a new study published in PLoS ONE shows that those men with high-pitched voices may be better when it comes to mating.

The study, led by evolutionary biologist Leigh Simmons from the University of Western Australia looked at 54 heterosexual men between the ages of 18 and 32 and 30 heterosexual women from a local college campus.

The researchers recorded the voices of the men and then had the female participants rate the voices in terms of masculinity and attractiveness. As expected, the majority of the women voted the deep voices more attractive.

Next, the researchers had each male participant provide a semen sample to the lab. Each sample was entered into a sperm-analysis system which rated the sperm on its ability to swim toward a female’s egg. They also examined sperm count.

The results of the analysis showed that the men with deeper voices produced ejaculate with fewer sperm cells than the men with higher pitched voices.

The research suggests that the link between deep voices and a decline in sperm may be an evolutionary trade-off. Traits such as the deep voice which tend to be associated with success and dominance are traded for a low sperm count. While testosterone does play a role in the creation of sperm, too much can impair sperm production.

While those men with the deeper voices did show lower sperm counts than the other men participating, all sperm counts measured in the study were within healthy parameters.