LEFT EAR vs. RIGHT EAR

I wear a radio with an earpiece at my work. I answer the phone and sometimes I just can't understand the caller. I have blamed the phone (because it does have a buzz, or sometimes I hear myself about a 1/2 second after I speak), but I wondered if maybe my hearing is the problem. So, today I thought I would move the earpiece from my right ear to my left ear, so I can use my right ear for the phone.

The next time someone spoke on the radio, it was the strangest thing. It sounded the same... but different. That got me to wondering if both ears hear the same. I did what I always do, go to Google. Here is what I learned:

The left hemisphere of the brain dominates over the right in processing different sounds. Specifically, the left hemisphere dominates in processing rapidly changing sounds such as in speech, and the right hemisphere dominates in processing prolonged tones such as in music.

I just couldn't get used to the change, so I went back to my earpiece in the right ear. But, I learned something today!