Brain Experiment

It's weird to work for a think tank...There are many days when I literally sit at my desk and just think; Come up with new ways of conceiving and creating diversity, inclusion, and gender equity in the workplace. Other days I make upwards of 30 calls to various people or speak on the phone for 6 or 7 hours. I like to take copious notes on my computer when I speak on the phone. For this reason, I have one of those nifty phone headsets - kind of like an operator. The headset is designed so I can wear the ear piece on either my left or right ear. I started noticing, a few months back, that when I wear the headset on my right ear I capture far more verbatim quotes then when I wear it on my left ear. I summarize more when I'm wearing it on my left.

The difference in the quality of the notes is subtle - but as someone who is dyslexic and hypersensative to how my brain processes information - this subtle variance really surprised me. I'm sure it has something to do with the whole left brain/right brain phenomena. This got me thinking about how humans, overall, take in and process information. Would I have a different conversation with someone if they stood to the right side of me as opposed to my left? If they stand to my left side, I may not be hearing the exact words they say and instead I might be more holistic in the way I process the conversation (and I might be at risk of misinterpreting what they have to say.) If they stand to my right, I may be hearing the words but not getting the overall message. Could this be the reason why humans prefer to speak with people face to face? When you speak face to face, not only do you get to absorb all the non-verbal cues transmitted through a person's facial movements, you also receive the same volumn of information in both ears at the same time. You hear the overall message and the individual words - you get a fuller appreciation of what is being communicated.

So, what does this mean for a person who has lost hearing in one ear? Does their communication style change?

Just something to think about. Then again, my brain wiring has always been a bit crossed to begin with.