Bionic Ear Blog

Well, apparently the Mars / Venus concept applies to the left and right ear. According to a NY Times article (free registration required), the right ear is Mars. Wow, I didn’t know our ears were so far away. Sorry, couldn’t let that go. Back to business.

“But in a new study, scientists have found that the left and right ears process sound differently. From birth, the right ear responds more to speech, while the left ear is more attuned to music, according to the study, published in Science on Sept. 10.”

Interesting thing, I’ve always relied on my right ear when using the phone. It could distinguish speech better than my left ear. I figured it was mainly because I relied on it more, but the study makes you wonder if there was more to it. That is why I chose to have the right ear implanted.

“While the idea that the left and right ears are not identical is new, scientists have known for decades that the two sides of the brain sort out sound in different ways…

“But until now, most researchers overlooked the possibility that differences in auditory processing originated in the ear.” [ Thanks to Ed Norris for the article. ]