The Electricity
of Hearing
of Hearing
The
electricity of hearing! Hearing is second in importance after vision. Our ears
have two functions:
(1) hearing
(2) maintaining balance.
Diagram Our ears put us in contact with the world of sound: we hear the rush of the wind, the clap of thunder, the song of a bird, the cry of a baby. And in love, we hear those precious words in a whisper “I love you”, words promising intimacy and bliss.
Each ear is composed of three parts: (1) external ear — the ear lobe or auricula and the external ear canal, (2) the middle ear, called tympanic cavity, containing the three small hammer shaped bones, and (3) the internal ear, which is composed of two parts: the semicircular canals and the cochlea.
The semicircular canals, three in each ear, function similarly to the levels used by carpenters. They have a liquid inside (endolymph) which helps the body maintain its vertical position: one regulates our vertical position from front to back, the other from side to side and still another the remaining cross positions. We have, therefore, six “levels” to maintain our body in the standing position.
The cochlea, (Latin: snail-shell), is the specialized organ of hearing and is, indeed shaped like a snail shell. Inside this snail shell is the fluid (perilymph) and also specialized cells for hearing. How do we hear? The vibrations in the air produce waves in the perilymph. At the same time the tiny little hairs of the hearing cells pick up the different waves and transmit them, electrically, by the otic hearing nerve to the hearing center in the brain (temporal zone) for proper interpretation.
Telephone
Our ears function like the telephone. At the end of the ear canal is a membrane — tympanic membrane — similar to the oral diaphragm of the telephone which vibrates sympathetically with the sound waves. These sound waves are then transmitted by the three small hammers of the middle ear to the cochlea or snail shell of the inner ear, where high, medium and low pitches are separated into a scale similar to a piano keyboard. The telephone only functions with electricity. Our hearing works only with human electricity.
We all know that the sensation of sound results from sound waves that travel to the ear. We have learned that the atmosphere is loaded with electrically charged molecules of radio active oxygen and nitrogen. Sound waves carry with them these electrical charges causing the tympanic membrane to vibrate, creating the electricity for hearing. We must note that sound does not travel in a vacuum! We need electrically charged molecules (oxygen and nitrogen) for the sound to travel through the air.
Music
There is a special scale to measure the relative intensity of sounds and its
unit is called the decibel. A
normal conversation can reach 50 decibels. A jet taking off measures more than
120 decibels. When we speak softly or whisper we produce only 20 decibels.
We know that highly industrialized modern nations, with much noise producing technology, have a greater degree of noise pollution which is unhealthy for our ears. We recognize that music, has a great influence on our personality and preferences. There are types of music which are more aphrodisiacal than others for different individuals.
The higher, the louder and the faster the music, the worse it is for the electricity of love! This is one reason why Americans are the most sexually immature people in the world — with 52 percent divorce — and also who suffer the most hearing loss caused by excessive noise levels. To obtain the best results from the electricity of hearing we must play soft and melodious music. The most effective confessions of love are made slowly and softly.