Hearing, as one of the five senses, is one of our most valuable senses. Everyday we use our sense of hearing as a useful tool. This tool that we use for several tasks in everyday life is very complex. Diane Ackerman explains how human hearing works:

Waves of sound roll like tides to our ears, where they make the eardrum vibrate; this in turn moves three colorfully named bones (the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup), the tiniest bones in the body. Although the cavity they sit in is only about a third of an inch wide and a sixth of an inch deep, the air trapped there by blocked Eustachain tubes is what gives scuba divers and airplane passengers such grief when the air pressure changes. The three bones press fluid in the inner ear against membranes, which brush tiny hairs that trigger nearby nerve cells, which telegraph messages to the brain. (Ackerman 177)

We as humans use this sophisticated device for many different uses. Hearing is the most valuable sense due to all of its uses.

The most important use of hearing is communication. Hearing is responsible for half of the way humans verbally communicate. Consequently, without hearing there would be no use for verbal speech. Humans would be forced to use alternate methods of communication such as sign language or how non-audible animals communicate. The ablity to hear greatly effects our way of life by means of communication.

Another important use of hearing is listening to music. Music is sometimes used medicinally, in that it can put one in a better mood after a bad day. I sometimes use music to put myself in a better mood, but I personally listen to music more often for entertainment. Listening to all of the songs on my beloved iTunes library during my free time is one of my favorite things to do. While studying music at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in MUHI 101, Introduction to Music, I have learned to appreciate music more. I have learned about the origin, evolution, and complexities of music and how it has influenced man throughout time. Without being able to hear music one would be without one of the primary arts enjoyed by man for thousands of years.

Another gift of hearing is listening to the sounds of nature. Sounds of nature are often overlooked. Sounds of the wind blowing leaves around in the fall, tiny drops of rain splattering on a rooftop when one is trying to fall asleep, or even a crashing thunderstorm. Although these sounds may seem to have very little importance, they are a creation of nature and I think if I ever became deaf I would greatly miss the absence of the familiar sounds of weather and nature.

In contrast to the sounds of nature, big cities also have a trademark sound. When I head to downtown Pittsburgh I do not expect to take in the sounds of nature. Instead, I am overwhelmed with the sound of people walking back and forth along with cars, buses, and other automobiles and an occasional car horn. In the city, one may also be at a stadium featuring their local team. Whenever the home team scores, the stadium is filled with the crowd’s loud cheer. Without the ability to hear, this would be a great loss not to be able to experience something such as this.

Hearing is also our most valuable sense because it is more important than sight. When someone looses their sense of sight, it is true that they can no longer see certain elements of this world such as colors. To counter this, in this situation, one substitutes his/her sense of sight for their sense of touch. A blind person may not be able to see a tree with his/her eyes, but he/she can see that if it is thick or thin, tall or short, or rough or smooth bark with his/her hands. Just the opposite is true for the sense of hearing. Once one’s sense of hearing is fully lost there is no substitute. None of the other four senses could replace the phenomenon of hearing sound; this is why hearing is our most valuable sense.

Works Cited

 

Ackerman, Diane. A Natural History of the Senses. 1. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.