The way to a man's heart? Through his left ear
New research suggests that declarations of love, jokes, or words of anger are best remembered when they are heard through the left ear, while instructions, directions and non-emotional messages have more impact on the right side.
It is all to do with how our brains process information. Although the left and right hemispheres, or sides, of the brain are similar structures, they have specialised functions. The left side, it is suggested, is more logic-based and dominant, while the right is the more imaginative side, more visual, intuitive, emotional and spatially aware. Because the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, the left ear has been shown in some research to be the route to the emotional side of the brain, and the right ear to the non-emotional, logical side.
The news that left and right ears process sound differently is not so new. A 2004 article in Science found that the left ear of a baby was more attuned to music and the right better at picking up speech-like sounds.
Speak to my right ear, sing to my left
Posted by Jill Fallon at April 28, 2008 4:56 PM | Permalink