When referring to pitch, we think about how high or low a note is on  a relative scale. Pitch is an acoustic carrier of meaning, as the different phonemes of speech and the overall intonation of voice is denoted by changes in pitch. Melody is also made possible by pitch modulation. Aside from emotional and…
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Both our sense of hearing and our sense of vision allow us to perceive crucial but very different information about our surroundings. Our eyes relay the location and movement of objects in our visual field, while our ears convey information about the actions of objects both in and outside of our visual field. Despite the…
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Many of my patients ask me what they can do to minimize hearing decline in later years. Apart from protecting the ears against excessive noise, the next best thing one can do, is to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle. While this answer may not satisfy those patients looking for an elusive pill or supplement…
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It is uncanny how we can recognize an individual’s voice from a million other voices. A person’s voice is as unique as a fingerprint. In fact, no two voices on the planet are identical. Voice characteristics are dependent on a number of anatomical factors, including: size and strength of the lungs, dimension of the airways…
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Blood and nerve supply to the ear is achieved via a complex network of arteries and nerves. In addition there is considerable interaction between the vascular and neural branches serving auditory structures and those serving adjacent anatomical regions. Blood supply to the outer and middle ear originates from the external carotid artery, which courses up the…
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How did the discovery of mysterious echoes emanating from the inner ear finally vindicate an English physicist 40 years later? During the 1600s early theories of hearing accepted that the ear  (specifically the cochlea) was  a passive receptor of sound. Essentially the cochlea was believed to be a kind of complex resonator, over which environmental inputs…
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The concept of hemispheric specialization suggests that one side of the brain is better equipped to perform certain functions that the other. In reality the division of labour between the hemispheres is not clear cut. Like most perceptual skills, auditory abilities are supported differently across brain hemispheres, but they are by no means mutually exclusive. Auditory…
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Like the rest of our bodies, our ears and hearing undergo  developmental changes. Throughout childhood the auditory system is acquiring the skills necessary for focus and comprehension. Memory and emotional centres of the brain also learn to classify sounds for later recall. In this way, a child learns about the relevance and emotional value of…
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“How should I clean my ears?”, is a question frequently asked by patients. The short answer is “you shouldn’t!” When it comes to managing wax, less is more. Rule number one is to stay out of the ear canal. Those little cot-ton applicators, variously known as cotton buds or Q-tips, are designed solely for cleaning…
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When we think about our sense of hearing and the purpose it holds in our daily lives, we generally associate it with verbal communication. There are of course other ways in which hearing contributes to our human experience. While the link between verbal communication and hearing comes foremost to mind, it is in fact one…
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