4 ms·

"Similarly, you can test your ears: which ear would you naturally use on the telephone?" Well, I'm right-handed, so...

by mannykannot 2y ago

woodrowbarlow 2y ago
i'm left handed but i tend to hold phones to my right ear.
- mannykannot 2y ago
  Interesting - I would guess you usually hold it with your right hand? Is your hearing noticeably asymmetric? Come to think of it, if I'm doing something else at the same time - such as, of course, writing - I will hold the phone to my left ear with my left hand. Whichever way, in my case, it has little to do with my hearing.
  - woodrowbarlow 2y ago
    yes, with my right hand. i don't think my hearing is asymmetric, i think i just appreciate having my dominant hand free while i talk. a doctor once observed i tend to do "fine motor skills" (e.g. handwriting) left-handed but "large motor skills" (e.g. swinging a baseball bat) right-handed.
- finger 2y ago
  I’m right handed but I often use my left hand and left ear, or sometimes even my right hand and left ear
  - oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
    Right hand/left ear feels incredibly awkward to me — almost as bad as trying to get something from your left pocket with your right hand.
- moomin 2y ago
  The thing is, we may have an ear preference but switching doesn't seem to be that big a deal. UK cops are taught to pick up the phone with their non-dominant hand so that their dominant hand can take notes. I'm guessing _most_ people use their dominant hand to hold their phone unless they're accustomed to taking notes.
misja111 2y ago
I'm right-handed and hold my phone to my left ear. Actually I tried holding it to my right ear a couple of times and it felt so unnatural that I had trouble focusing on the conversation. I have no idea why this is.
noworld 2y ago
This is the one thing that seemed off. I don't have any preference for one ear over the other. If I hold the phone up to an ear, it would depend on what I wanted to do with the other hand. If I'm writing, I would hold the phone in my left hand to my left ear. If I'm typing one-handed, I would type with my left hand while i hold the phone in my right hand to my right ear. If I went to listen up against a door, it would depend on other things which ear I used, like which ear might already be closer to the door.
oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
Smart phones confuse this, I think. I bet most right-handers hold their phone in their left hand so they can touch the screen with their right. So it then naturally follows that, to hold the phone to the ear, we'd keep it in that left hand. Of course, sometimes I also use it one-handed, in which case it's in my right hand — on reflection, I think most phone use is probably ambidextrous.
- tivert 2y ago
  > Smart phones confuse this, I think. I bet most right-handers hold their phone in their left hand so they can touch the screen with their right. Phones used to be small enough that you could use them one-handed, and I still tend try. The only grips I use are one-handed or equally split between two hands, like holding a vertical video game controller. I never use a phone in the way you describe, except maybe to rarely to hit a single button that's out of reach. I tend to rock it in my hand to reach with my thumb. Have I ever told you I think all phones are slightly too big now?
- delecti 2y ago
  There might be an age component to that. Anecdotally, holding the phone with the opposite hand from the one touching the screen feels correlated with age to me. I'm right-handed, and primarily use my phone one-handed with my right hand.
  - oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
    It could be an age thing, but I feel like it's more a size & situational thing. I would definitely use a smaller phone one-handed. And when I'm out and about, I do too.
- bee_rider 2y ago
  I think talking on the phone is sufficiently different from using it as a tiny computer, we just hold it completely differently in that scenario, so I bet we tend to go to the default state (right hand). I’m trying to think back, but I can’t ever remember using a phone left-handed.
roelschroeven 2y ago
I hold the phone to my left ear, but that has nothing to do with ear preference. It's because it feels more natural holding it up with my left hand (which conveniently leaves my dominant right hand free for doing other things).

"Similarly, you can test your ears: which ear would you naturally use on the telephone?" Well, I'm right-handed, so...

woodrowbarlow 2y ago

i'm left handed but i tend to hold phones to my right ear.

mannykannot 2y ago
Interesting - I would guess you usually hold it with your right hand? Is your hearing noticeably asymmetric? Come to think of it, if I'm doing something else at the same time - such as, of course, writing - I will hold the phone to my left ear with my left hand. Whichever way, in my case, it has little to do with my hearing.
- woodrowbarlow 2y ago
  yes, with my right hand. i don't think my hearing is asymmetric, i think i just appreciate having my dominant hand free while i talk. a doctor once observed i tend to do "fine motor skills" (e.g. handwriting) left-handed but "large motor skills" (e.g. swinging a baseball bat) right-handed.
finger 2y ago
I’m right handed but I often use my left hand and left ear, or sometimes even my right hand and left ear
- oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
  Right hand/left ear feels incredibly awkward to me — almost as bad as trying to get something from your left pocket with your right hand.
moomin 2y ago
The thing is, we may have an ear preference but switching doesn't seem to be that big a deal. UK cops are taught to pick up the phone with their non-dominant hand so that their dominant hand can take notes. I'm guessing _most_ people use their dominant hand to hold their phone unless they're accustomed to taking notes.

misja111 2y ago

I'm right-handed and hold my phone to my left ear. Actually I tried holding it to my right ear a couple of times and it felt so unnatural that I had trouble focusing on the conversation. I have no idea why this is.

noworld 2y ago

This is the one thing that seemed off. I don't have any preference for one ear over the other. If I hold the phone up to an ear, it would depend on what I wanted to do with the other hand. If I'm writing, I would hold the phone in my left hand to my left ear. If I'm typing one-handed, I would type with my left hand while i hold the phone in my right hand to my right ear. If I went to listen up against a door, it would depend on other things which ear I used, like which ear might already be closer to the door.

oneeyedpigeon 2y ago

Smart phones confuse this, I think. I bet most right-handers hold their phone in their left hand so they can touch the screen with their right. So it then naturally follows that, to hold the phone to the ear, we'd keep it in that left hand. Of course, sometimes I also use it one-handed, in which case it's in my right hand — on reflection, I think most phone use is probably ambidextrous.

tivert 2y ago
> Smart phones confuse this, I think. I bet most right-handers hold their phone in their left hand so they can touch the screen with their right. Phones used to be small enough that you could use them one-handed, and I still tend try. The only grips I use are one-handed or equally split between two hands, like holding a vertical video game controller. I never use a phone in the way you describe, except maybe to rarely to hit a single button that's out of reach. I tend to rock it in my hand to reach with my thumb. Have I ever told you I think all phones are slightly too big now?
delecti 2y ago
There might be an age component to that. Anecdotally, holding the phone with the opposite hand from the one touching the screen feels correlated with age to me. I'm right-handed, and primarily use my phone one-handed with my right hand.
- oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
  It could be an age thing, but I feel like it's more a size & situational thing. I would definitely use a smaller phone one-handed. And when I'm out and about, I do too.
bee_rider 2y ago
I think talking on the phone is sufficiently different from using it as a tiny computer, we just hold it completely differently in that scenario, so I bet we tend to go to the default state (right hand). I’m trying to think back, but I can’t ever remember using a phone left-handed.

roelschroeven 2y ago

I hold the phone to my left ear, but that has nothing to do with ear preference. It's because it feels more natural holding it up with my left hand (which conveniently leaves my dominant right hand free for doing other things).