Our Sense of Hearing: Facts and Figures

Our sense of hearing is the most delicate of all senses. In terms of every imaginable parameter, the ear is superior to the eye. It is more sensitive, accurate, fast, effective and less prone to deception.

• The eye sees within a visual spectrum. The wavelength of this visual spectrum doubles from 380 nanometers to 760 nanometers. This is equivalent to one octave. The ear is capable of perceiving 10 octaves.  

• Speed: In order to distinguish two stimuli the eye needs 0.02 of a second. The ear only requires 0.003 of a second and is thus almost seven times faster.  

• Dynamics: the ear can process intensities ranging from 10-11 Hz to 116 Hz. Such intensities would blind the eye.  

• Mathematical accuracy: every human is able to recognize an octave and the sound of its 1: 2 wavelength ratio. Students of physiognomy learn that: “The ear measures, the eye estimates.” 

• Sensitivity: the highest concentration of neurons and nerve-endings is in the inner-ear. This creates the highest density of recognition and thus stimulation. Several centuries ago, this function was presumed to be in the sexual organs. The inner ear, however, surpasses these three-fold.  

• Structure: the inner ear and the cochlea is protected by the petrosal bone. This is the toughest bone structure in the human body. This is further evidence for the significance of natural hearing.  

• Energy: It has been discovered that 90% of the energy supplied to the cortex is transmitted via the ear, almost exclusively through high frequencies. As long as this supply is secured, it will lead to vitality, awareness and creativity.  

• Balance organ: We all know that the ear is responsible for our sense of balance. But this is not all. The ear is connected to every muscle of the body and helps to coordinate our movements. Our posture and movement depends on the ear.

• Development of the ear: 7-8 days after insemination a 1cm large cell-mass is recognizable. The microscopically small onset of ears is also visible. 4 ½ months into the pregnancy, the actual acoustic organ, the inner ear and the cochlea are already completely developed and have reached their full size. It is the first organ that develops completely. Without a doubt, hearing is essential to human begins. 

• What does the embryo hear?
- The mother’s voice
- The heartbeat, the primal meter
- Sounds in the abdomen (digestion etc.)
- External sounds (high frequencies are easier to heat than low ones)

Excerpt from the book Unleash the Secret of Education and learn how to raise a happy child

In this book, written by Hans Peter Becker, you will find more interesting facts about music and the brain function.

Does Music Help Students Get Better Grades?

Playing music can help teens with their study, reduce stress and depression and provide them with a general feel-good mood.

Music doesn’t necessarily make teens smarter, nevertheless music lessons’ process can help them to use their brain to it's fullest potential. Researcher E. Glenn Schellenberg, Ph.D.  found that music lessons help with boosting kids’ IQ and academic performance, as mentioned in the May 2006 issue of the Journal of Educational Psychology. The study showed that music lessons during childhood were strongly correlated with a higher IQ and better high school grades. Moreover, the longer a child has music lessons, the greater the boost. 

According to Northwestern’s Professor Nina Kraus, director of  Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, learning to play an instrument has major advantages for a growing brain and should be a key part of school education. She points out there is strong evidence to show that music lessons help children improve their language skills.
“Now we know that music can fundamentally shape our sub-cortical sensory circuitry in ways that may enhance everyday tasks, including reading and listening in noise” said Prof Kraus.
“Playing music engages the ability to extract relevant patterns, such as the sound of one's own instrument, harmonies and rhythms, from the "soundscape", not surprisingly, musicians' nervous systems are more effective at utilising the patterns in music and speech alike.’

Furthermore, researchers at the University of St Andrews said their findings showed musicians were quicker to pick up mistakes and correct them.
The team said their results indicated musical activity could be used to slow, stop or even reverse age and illness-related decline in mental functioning.

Playing an instrument requires strong mental multi-tasking abilities such as concentration, memory and critical thinking, which abilities are enhanced over time.
Creativity and organization skills are also important during a music composition. A student trains his brain to focus on a particular piece, read the notes, translate them into a tune through combined movements of his body and assess the outcome. That all make a brain get stimulated and get activated in several different levels, just from a simple song.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-24297289
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1252652/Learning-play-musical-instrument-helps-young-brains-develop-language-skills.html#ixzz2hPrix8Ru
http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/music-teens-good-grades-school-15619.html
http://edlab.tc.columbia.edu/index.php?q=node/5241