Left/right ear differences

[EZ Meno]

When I talk on the phone I hold the phone on my left ear. I have noticed that if I switch to the right ear, the sound is very different. It's more quiet, less clear and the tone is very different. I have not checked my hearing by a doctor, but I'm quite sure both ears are fine and maybe even good for my age (I did some online tests). I believe the ear difference is mostly because the brain is more "trained" to hearing the phone on the left ear.
So I'm wondering does my ear difference also have an effect on how I hear music? I tried my headphones by switching the left and right channels, and I can definitely hear a difference, but much less than with the phone.
My question is, does this affect in how I hear music? Should I start holding the phone on the right ear too to balance both sides? Would it help me in hearing music better?

 

[Berwhale]

I suspect the difference is mainly due to how you hold the phone when placing over your left or right ear. Very small differences in how the phone is held can make a big difference to the sound - see headphone reviews regading sealing, driver angle, pad thickness, etc. Note how often Amir measures channel imbalance because he can't get headphones to seal identically on left and right ear cups on an appliance which is completely symmetrical.

 

[Doodski]

I'm the same way. I simply use the left ear for all telephony and don't even try the right ear anymore.

 

[EZ Meno]

I suspect the difference is mainly due to how you hold the phone when placing over your left or right ear. Very small differences in how the phone is held can make a big difference to the sound - see headphone reviews regading sealing, driver angle, pad thickness, etc. Note how often Amir measures channel imbalance because he can't get headphones to seal identically on left and right ear cups on an appliance which is completely symmetrical.

That sounds like a sensible explanation, but it's not that. It doesn't matter how I hold the phone there's a big difference. Partly because of that I never hold the phone on the right ear. Just like @Doodski .

 

[egellings]

My ears are different, too. What surprises me, though is how good they are in localizing the source of a sound.

 

[Chrispy]

I used the left ear because I'm right handed primarily but can't say I'd ever noticed a difference particularly, altho it wouldn't surprise me there are small differences in the ears themselves...but having your hearing measured could perhaps explain things or put your mind to rest somewhat....

 

[Berwhale]

That sounds like a sensible explanation, but it's not that. It doesn't matter how I hold the phone there's a big difference. Partly because of that I never hold the phone on the right ear. Just like @Doodski .

Interesting... Most People Prefer Right Ear for Listening | Live Science

I prefer my right ear as well.

 

[pjug]

Just put the phone on speaker and drive the world crazy like my family do to me.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I use either ear and often switch back-and-forth during a call. Have not noticed any difference.

 

[beeface]

I think I often start phone conversations with the right ear because I'm right-handed, then switch to the left if I need to check something on the computer or write something down. Exciting stuff, I know.

 

[Chrispy]

When I talk on the phone I hold the phone on my left ear. I have noticed that if I switch to the right ear, the sound is very different. It's more quiet, less clear and the tone is very different. I have not checked my hearing by a doctor, but I'm quite sure both ears are fine and maybe even good for my age (I did some online tests). I believe the ear difference is mostly because the brain is more "trained" to hearing the phone on the left ear.
So I'm wondering does my ear difference also have an effect on how I hear music? I tried my headphones by switching the left and right channels, and I can definitely hear a difference, but much less than with the phone.
My question is, does this affect in how I hear music? Should I start holding the phone on the right ear too to balance both sides? Would it help me in hearing music better?

Curious if this is with a cell phone or old rotary or something in between?

 

[the_hamster 2]

Used to always use right ear for telephone, then an audiogram revealed notable hearing loss in left ear vis-à-vis right, which obviously had biased my preference...balanced hearing appliances corrected issue, now either ear works equally well whilst on phone. Audiologist said that hearing losses aren’t always bilateral, so perhaps personal preferences are a reflection of unrecognized hearing imbalances.

 

[EZ Meno]

I used the left ear because I'm right handed primarily but can't say I'd ever noticed a difference particularly, altho it wouldn't surprise me there are small differences in the ears themselves...but having your hearing measured could perhaps explain things or put your mind to rest somewhat....

Have you always used the left ear? I kind of have a hypothesis that since I always used the left ear, my brain and the left ear have trained to focus on the frequencies coming from the phone. People who have been switching between left and right would not hear a difference.
Yeah, it would be a good idea to check my hearing. But when I listen to sounds other than phone, everything sounds almost the same on both sides. A motorcycle just went my place and I listened on both sides turning my head, and the sound was very similar.

 

[sejarzo]

I have a "scoop out" from 4-6 kHz in my left ear. I don't notice much of a difference in level until I put on headphones or IEMs, but I find that if I play mono pink noise, close my eyes, and adjust the slider on the Foobar balance plug-in to center it, I usually end up with it at 47-48 (slightly biased to the left side.) The tonality of that pink noise is definitely different in each ear now, which I have confirmed by flipping around the headphones or IEMs. Definitely not just a L/R driver mismatch.

 

[EZ Meno]

I use either ear and often switch back-and-forth during a call. Have not noticed any difference.

That seems to be consistent with my hypothesis. You've been swithching between left and right and don't hear a difference. I always used the left and hear a big difference.

 

[EZ Meno]

Curious if this is with a cell phone or old rotary or something in between?

I was a kid when we had a rotary phone so I don't remember. But it could be that I started using the left ear since the right sounded weird. It's possible, and maybe I should check my hearing. Anyway, it's not just cell phone. Only a few years ago I had a landline phone and had the same issue on that.

 

[Chrispy]

Have you always used the left ear? I kind of have a hypothesis that since I always used the left ear, my brain and the left ear have trained to focus on the frequencies coming from the phone. People who have been switching between left and right would not hear a difference.
Yeah, it would be a good idea to check my hearing. But when I listen to sounds other than phone, everything sounds almost the same on both sides. A motorcycle just went my place and I listened on both sides turning my head, and the sound was very similar.

Pretty much. Was on the phone a lot when working and almost always needed to make use of my right hand accordingly, even kept the phone (not cell) on the left side of my desk to accommodate. In retirement I'm not using a phone much....and now I tend to alternate ears/hands because I rarely need to write anything down now and I just don't find a cell phone to be all that ergonomic/comfortable to hold for long periods of time.

 

[EZ Meno]

Used to always use right ear for telephone, then an audiogram revealed notable hearing loss in left ear vis-à-vis right, which obviously had biased my preference...balanced hearing appliances corrected issue, now either ear works equally well whilst on phone. Audiologist said that hearing losses aren’t always bilateral, so perhaps personal preferences are a reflection of unrecognized hearing imbalances.

Ha, this is interesting! I always used the left ear and the right ear sounds more quiet, but only on phone calls. The interesting question is, is it because one ear has better specialized to phonecalls and the brain adjusted to getting signals from that side, or is it that we have always preferred one side because the other side sounds worse.

 

[EZ Meno]

I have a "scoop out" from 4-6 kHz in my left ear. I don't notice much of a difference in level until I put on headphones or IEMs, but I find that if I play mono pink noise, close my eyes, and adjust the slider on the Foobar balance plug-in to center it, I usually end up with it at 47-48 (slightly biased to the left side.) The tonality of that pink noise is definitely different in each ear now, which I have confirmed by flipping around the headphones or IEMs. Definitely not just a L/R driver mismatch.

I just tested a frequency sweep 20Hz-20kHz on youtube. I have open back headphones (Q701) and there's some background noice that could affect the result. I could hear from 20Hz to about 15kHz. Both ears sounded balanced, except somewhere around 8.5-10kHz the right ear went silent, but then it came back on after that. Weird.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

That seems to be consistent with my hypothesis. You've been swithching between left and right and don't hear a difference. I always used the left and hear a big difference.

Of course, it could be that, since both were equally adequate for clear understanding, I pay no attention to any other possible difference.