Are deep voices related to/caused by high testosterone?
In: Biology
My voice deepened from pregnancy, both times. I used to sing soprano, now I am a firm alto. Relaxin or however it is spelled, which makes the joints and tendons more flexible so that the baby can exit the birth canal loosens the vocal cords as well. So like a looser string on a cello, violin, or bass is a lower note, the looser vocal cord also produces a lower/deeper note.
So while testosterone can be a cause of lower/deeper voice, a more relaxed throat can also be a cause.
During puberty, testosterone drives development of secondary sex characteristics typically associate with male sex. This includes the lengthening of the vocal cords, which causes the voice to drop. So, kind of.
No. There have been several studies trying to see if circulating total/free testosterone levels are correlated with lower voices with men, and no correlation has been found that reaches the level of statistical significance.
Similar to penis size and other physical characteristics that guys tend to obsess about, as long as you have sufficient testosterone to trigger and fully complete puberty, your voice will eventually drop to its lowest target level as defined by your genetics.
Vocal depth is more related to the size of the person, the size and laxity of their vocal chords and muscles, etc. If you don’t have sufficient testosterone to trigger puberty at all, then you’ll obviously never deepen to your genetic limit either, but that’s a different question.
(Edit: note this is also separate from the theory that some genetic male adult sexual characteristics are “primed” by levels of exposure to testosterone from the mother in the womb, for which there is slightly more evidence, but not the question as asked.)
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is what gives rise to ‘male’ characteristics (Lower voice, body hair, and even eventually hair loss). DHT is highly androgenic, as opposed to testosterone which is highly anabolic. As a side note estrogen is actually also anabolic, which is why you don’t want it to be too low even as a man.
DHT comes from testosterone, so more testosterone typically means more DHT. Though the amount of DHT one has is dependent on their genetics, and the way our bodies react to DHT is dependent on genetics as well. So high testosterone and/or DHT, isn’t a guarantee that you will have a deeper voice or lose your hair.
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