Note: As far as penning my thoughts go I have been coasting along these past months and whenever my significant other asks what would be my next topic here (she’s my biggest, perhaps only fan) I almost always retort that I have been suffering from writer’s block. Okay, I can almost hear some saying “yeah like you were ever anywhere near being one”! The truth is we have been actively pursuing new directions in our off premises events and shows and which have demanded much of our time and energy. Thus whenever an opportunity presents itself and I have some spare time on the keyboard laziness just overcomes me. I keep telling myself the inspiration will hobble along if I waited long enough. Today was just such a day.
Our Ears & Bones – Our Most Prized Audio Components
“Sticks and Stones May break My Bones…And Make Me Deaf!”
A famous stage director once commented, "Acting is reacting. It's done with the ears, not the mouth." If we think that listening is passive then, as the French would say, au contraire because there is evidence to suggest that it is indeed active. So active is listening that sometimes we require the assistance of our bones as well!
Before we delve further let’s have quick synopsis of what our ears actually do. The inner ear, or vestibular-cochlear system, is one of the first sensory systems to develop in the foetus.
Our ears are extraordinary organs which comprise a seemingly complex series of parts working in concert to pickup sounds and then translating or converting the data for our brains to decipher. Much like the digital-to-analog converter (DAC) of a CD player which section is responsible for converting the digital data into analog electrical signals which is what we finally get to hear from the loudspeakers. To put this hearing process in perspective we need only remind ourselves that all our other senses, namely taste, vision and smell depend on chemical reactions. Remarkably our hearing process is completely mechanical! Like the phono cartridge and tonearm of a record player or a loudspeaker.However, we do not rely solely on our ears to pick up sounds incredible mechanical devices though they are especially when we understand the mechanics of everything they do.
Listening and hearing are two quite distinct activities which are available to the human aural function primarily because in hearing we use the inner ear, the cochlea, tympanic membrane amongst our other auditory anatomy. Whereas when we listen we are using the middle ear that creates the container for the auditory canal. In the middle ear there exists small, tiny muscles constantly operating to open and close the ear – almost as though it is selectively making a choice to what it wants to listen to.
It is not wrong, therefore, to say that the brain being a huge memory drive which stores our memories, belief systems, values and other critical systems to keep us alive governs when we listen and presumably influence how and what we listen to?
There are times when the middle ear is left open allowing too much sound to flood the brain thus over stimulating it. These overwhelming stimuli may confuse the brain which results in it not being able to make sense or process, in correct order, the incoming sound information.The reverse is true when the middle ear is too closed down and not letting in enough sound. When there is a lack of sound stimulation the brain may become depressed in this instance because both sight and sound are skin to forms of food for the brain.
Do we not occasionally find the sound of our own voice extremely comforting, even therapeutic? The following exercises may appear primitive but some have discovered them to alleviate depression;
1) Begin by turning yourself around a few times to re-orientate yourself in space since hearing affects one’s balance. Clench your fingers into a fist and very lightly support your chin with it. This will synchronize your brain interpretation centers for sight and sound.
2) Have a familiar text ready, preferably one which gives you peace and has a calming effect for you. Read this passage out loud for approximately ten minutes. Do this every day.
The Tomatis Method
Your fist lightly supporting your chin behaves in the same manner as a microphone would and minutely amplifying sound by redirecting it back toward the ears. Many have found this exercise has the added benefits of helping one to speak or sing clearly because the mouth is producing only what the ear hears.
The music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has demonstrated itself to be an effectively good healing tool for the middle ear. The Tomatis Method was developed by a French audiologist who spent years working specifically with opera singers. This method concentrates on listening to very high violin tones in Mozart music to achieve healing. The middle ear usually feels sore after going through its paces with the Tomatis Method much like an athlete’s sore muscles after a training session.
We must also determine which ear is the dominant ear. It has been suggested in The Tomatis Method that the right ear should be the dominant ear because of its connection to the left-brain - the part of the brain associated with language and speech. It follows that if the left ear is dominant, then the processing of sound is somewhat delayed when it is rerouted to the right ear first. In case I am misconstrued as promoting The Tomatis Method I’d like to state the following: “as always the skeptic I must caution that there is little or no evidence which supports that right ear dominance to be beneficial or that high frequency sounds really do charge the brain and the body.” Having said that if one were to understand theory more it certainly seems plausible.
The vestibular sense is located in the ear and has other functions besides regulating balance, muscle tone and the muscles of the eye. In concert with the cochlea it interprets and relays all sensory information to the brain. This includes touch and sight as well as sound.
Take Care of your Bones – Your Listening Depends On It!
So the next time you hit the irons at your local fitness centre please remember that good
listening is dependent upon your bones because we don’t just listen through our ears. It has been known that individuals who have not established this are hypersensitive to sounds and literally feel too much. The function of sound received through our bones is the precursor to alert our ears of an incoming sound. The cochlea then determines the meaning of the sound and sends it off to the correct part of the brain. When the cochlea isn’t involved in the process then the only interpretation for sound is one of defense.Before we all go out there and stuff ourselves with calcium supplements and dairy products thus causing our cholesterol levels to reach for the sky, it may be prudent to remind ourselves that our ears are our primary sound receptors. As mentioned earlier our ears are incredibly accurate audio systems in their own right - from picking up the original signal to amplifying it and playing it back for us!
Good listening starts with these components.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/hearing.htm
