Our ears – they enable one of our key senses, they allow us to hear. We use them to communicate and connect with the world, but what else can our ears do for us? Are they just a funny shaped appendage on the side of our heads? Well, we’ve put our thinking caps on and come together with a few things we might underappreciate about our ears!
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Releasing dopamine, this one is a product of hearing
You’re driving down the road in your car and your favorite song comes on, is it upbeat and happy? Or maybe calming and relaxing, either way you’re immediately in a much happier mood and ready to take on whatever the day throws at you!
This is the release of dopamine, music releases dopamine through the reward center of the brain. [1] Dopamine is not only released during peak musical moments but also when we anticipate those moments are about to happen, It’s like our brain is rewarding us for knowing a really great chorus is about to start!
They help our mask keep us safe from Covid
Our ears hold up our personal protective equipment (face masks) to keep us safe from many illnesses and germs! Face masks are a common practice in 2022 and most of them are held in place over the mouth and nose by straps worn behind the ears.
Face masks protect our most vulnerable members of society as well as those of us who just don’t want to get sick, so we can all say thanks to our ears for slowing down the spread of COVID and other germs.
They hold up or glasses too!
Eyeglasses and sunglasses are very important for some of us, our eyeglasses help us see and can even protect our eyes from our bright phone screens using blue light blocking technology! [2]
Our sunglasses protect us from the sun and can even help us see when combined with our prescription, but neither of these things would be quite the same without our ears!
Our ears adorn our finest jewellery
We don’t want our precious pearls and divine diamonds collecting dust. Ear jewellery modifications date back thousands of years even to ancient Egypt [3] where they indicated wealth class and success.
Just like all clothing and accessories ear jewellery has come in and out of popularity over the years. In 2022 there are many different styles of jewellery individuals choose to adorn that show off our personalities.
These days you can even get jewellery specifically for hearing aids. Wow we didn’t realise our ears could be so fashionable!
They help us balance!
This is an interesting one did you know our ears contain sensory cells to monitor the position in your head in relation to gravity, they constantly take in information from fluid moving in the inner ear and send the data to your brain! [4]
So, can our ears cause balance issues? Well, many different things can lead to loss of balance such as blood pressure, tumor, brain changes but there are specific ear diseases that can affect balance such as Meniere’s Disease and Benign Positional Paroxysmal Vertigo.
Conclusion
Well, we didn’t realise how much we rely on our ears for things other than hearing! These are all things our ears can do for us but the most crucial thing our ears do is help us communicate and connect with the outside world.
If your ears are not performing as well as they used to with your hearing, maybe we can help you out with a free hearing test contact Hearing Sense on 8331 8047 to find out more.
References
[1] Montag, C., Reuter, M. & Axmacher, N., 2011. How one’s favorite song activates the reward circuitry of The brain: Personality matters! Behavioural Brain Research. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166432811006012?via%3Dihub#preview-section-cited-by [Accessed August 31, 2022].
[2] Stanborough, R.J., 2022. The truth about blue light and Eye Health. Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-blue-light#limit-exposure [Accessed August 31, 2022].
[3] Admin (2018). Ancient Egyptian Earrings: A Historical Legacy. [online] Egypt7000. Available at: https://egypt7000.com/ancient-egyptian-earrings-a-historical-legacy/#:~:text=Earrings%20in%20Ancient%20Egypt%20were%20used%20as%20a [Accessed 28 Sep. 2022].
[4] Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Inner ear and balance. [online] Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dizziness/multimedia/inner-ear-and-balance/img-20006286.
