February 24, 2005

Right Ear, Left Ear

Did you know your right and left ears process sound differently?

The left hemisphere of the brain dominates over the right in processing different sounds. Specifically, the left hemisphere dominates in processing rapidly changing sounds such as in speech, and the right hemisphere dominates in processing prolonged tones such as in music.

However, the processing of sound actually begins in our ears, before sound reaches the brain. Because the right ear connects to the brain’s left hemisphere, it’s the dominant ear for processing rapidly changing sounds, and vice versa, the left ear dominates in processing prolonged tones.

This could mean some significant changes in the design of hearing devices, but only time will tell what the real implications for this finding are.