I’m All Ears

by Karen Topakian

Two Italian scientists conducted three studies in noisy nightclubs proving their theory that “…humans prefer to be addressed in our right ear and are more likely to perform a task when we receive the request in our right ear rather than our left….”

This information confirms my father’s behavior.

He suffered from hearing loss for much of his adult life. The cause was unknown but may have resulted from the noisy working environment of his electro-plating shop.

We often had to repeat news, stories and information because he said he hadn’t heard us. Or at least that was his excuse when he was miss-informed or ill informed about a particular matter.

This frequently exasperated my mother. Because she knew he could hear but just wasn’t listening.

His most common refrain was uttered while lying on the couch in the den watching television.  My mother would enter the room to ask him something. He wouldn’t answer. She would repeat the question. He would look up at her and say, “You know I can’t hear you when I’m lying on my good ear.” His right one.