A Piece of Wisdom we can gain from our Ears

“Listen in silence because if your heart is full of other things, you cannot hear the voice of God.” ~Mother Teresa

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Being the nerd that I am, I can’t help but start with how the mechanism of hearing works, for it is a beautiful thing worthy of our awe. If you’re not familiar with aural anatomy and physiology, I’ll provide you with a brief lesson.* The human ear is separated into three main parts: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. 

The outer ear contains the external portion that is visible to us (what we think of as “the ear”), as well as the hearing canal. Sound travels through the outer ear in the form of sound pressure waves until it reaches the tympanic membrane (what we know as the eardrum). At this point, sound vibrates the eardrum, turns the auditory signal into mechanical vibrations, and gets shuttled to the middle ear. 

The middle ear houses the bones of the hearing mechanism, also known as the ossicles. There are three of them, and they take the mechanical vibrations to a snail-shaped organ in the inner ear called the cochlea. The vibrations slam against the cochlea’s doorway, causing fluid inside to move. The cochlea is lined with microscopic hair cells all designed to respond to specific frequencies. When these hairs are stimulated by the movement of the inner ear fluid, an electrical impulse is sent to the brain via the auditory nerve, and we process it as sound.

Isn’t that amazing? God’s creation is intricate and complex with a number of different parts that all must work together in order to accomplish a greater purpose. It’s a process that happens in a mere second, yet we give it no thought.

An interesting thing about the hearing mechanism is it’s designed to protect itself from too much noise. God created something called “The Acoustic Reflex.” When the ear is exposed to sound 20 decibels (dB) above the reflex threshold, tiny muscles in the middle ear contract. When this happens, the bones of the middle ear stiffen, and the transmission of sound decreases by about 15 dB.

I find it fascinating that God designed an innate reflex that helps us decrease the noise in our lives. Perhaps it serves as a model for how we are meant to live. Much like how you can’t hear someone’s voice in a crowded, noisy room, God’s voice is difficult to discern when we’re distracted by the earthly noise around us. We’re constantly inundated by the chaotic noise of social media, culture, and news headlines. 

What might it look like if we developed a different type of reflex? What if, like the Acoustic Reflex, we conditioned ourselves to decrease the transmission of cultural noise to better hear God’s voice? This may look like taking a walk in nature, spending time in meditation, or thoughtful time in prayer. It may look like taking a good look at the state of our souls and our lives and asking ourselves what needs changing.

God longs to romance and wow us with His world. Yet, it’s difficult for us to experience the grandeur of His creation, as well as the beauty of our precious lives, when we’re surrounded by noisy distractions. If we quiet the cultural noise, how much more of God’s voice will we hear? 

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*To learn more about the anatomy and physiology of the hearing mechanism, see: Anatomy and Physiology of the Ear

​Photo Cred (Cover Photo): Unsplash