Brain decides which ear is used for cell phone

Scientists have discovered a strong correlation between brain dominance and the ear used to listen to a cell phone.
Those who are left-brain thinkers most likely use their right hand to hold their cell phone up to their right ear, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
More than 70 per cent of participants held their cell phone up to the ear on the same side as their dominant hand, the study found.
Left-brain dominant people - who account for about 95 per cent of the population and have their speech and language centre located on the left side of the brain - are more likely to use their right hand for writing and other everyday tasks.

The study found most left-brain dominant people also use the phone in their right ear, despite there being no perceived difference in their hearing in the left or right ear. And, right-brain dominant people are more likely to use their left hand to hold the phone in their left ear.
"Our findings have several implications, especially for mapping the language centre of the brain," said Michael Seidman, director of the division of otologic and neurotologic surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Henry Ford.

"By establishing a correlation between cerebral dominance and sidedness of cell phone use, it may be possible to develop a less-invasive, lower-cost option to establish the side of the brain where speech and language occurs rather than the Wada test, a procedure that injects an anaesthetic into the carotid artery to put part of the brain to sleep in order to map activity," he said.

He noted that the study also may offer additional evidence that cell phone use and tumours of the brain, head and neck may not necessarily be linked.
Since nearly 80 per cent of people use the cell phone in their right ear, he said if there were a strong connection there would be far more people diagnosed with cancer on the right side of their brain, head and neck, the dominant side for cell phone use.
It's likely, he said, that the development of tumours is more "dose-dependent" based on cell phone usage.
The study began with the simple observation that most people use their right hand to hold a cell phone to their right ear.

This practice, Seidman said, is illogical since it is challenging to listen on the phone with the right ear and take notes with the right hand.
In a survey of 5,000 individuals, 68 per cent of those who were right handed reported that they hold the phone to their right ear, while 25 per cent used the left ear and 7 per cent used both right and left ears.
For those who are left handed, 72 per cent said they used their left ear for cell phone conversations, while 23 per cent used their right ear and 5 per cent had no preference.

The study will be published in journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.