The shape of an ear begins to appear three weeks after conception, and the cochlea, which delivers sound to the inner ear, develops around week 16. The auditory nerves which connect the cochlea to the brain are completed by week 20, allowing the fetus to hear the sound. Even before the whole body is formed completely, the fetus can hear by month 4 or 5 of pregnancy. Compared with vision, which allows the baby to see properly about six months after being born, the development of hearing is very fast.
Not only that, but the sense that is alive until the last moment right before a man dies is also the sense of hearing. As for unconscious cancer patients in their last moments, who can neither talk nor open their eyes, their brains show the response to sounds similar to that of healthy people.
Like this, hearing starts operating before any other senses, and it operates even after all other senses stop operating. It is not too much to say that our life starts with hearing and ends with hearing. Moreover, we can close our eyes or mouths when we want to, but we can’t close our ears. They are open even when we are sleeping. Could this mean that hearing is very important in our lives? It’s because listening to other people is never easy though it seems easy.
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