When you answer your phone you probably don’t think about which hand you use to grasp it and which ear you put it up against – it’s just a matter of muscle memory.
Turns out, there is one side you should be using when listening to the voice at the other end.
The recommendation comes from phone signal Engineer Harun Šiljak, who’s done a fair bit of research. He found that overall the best outcome for decreasing phone radiation to your body and increasing signal is not to hold the phone at all (hello hands free).
“Radiation efficiency and gain (antenna functionality) are better when the phone is levitating. And that’s how you get good reception. However, in the lack of genie-assisted technology, you still insist on using your hand to hold the phone,” Siljak writes on Quora. (This guy’s hilarious, BTW.)
So, since you obviously can’t wingardium leviosa your phone to your face, which hand is the better choice?
Šiljak quotes a study out of the Nordic Council of Ministers, where 26 phones were analysed to see how well they operated in either hand and its corresponding ear (i.e. holding it with the right hand and putting it to the right ear vs. holding it with the left hand and putting it to the left ear).
“All iPhones perform better on the right side at the low frequencies and better on the left side for the high frequencies…HTC Desire is better on the right for all [frequency] bands. Huawei 360 is just the opposite of the iPhones,” he says.
So, if you’re team Apple and own an iPhone you’re best to use your left ear when listening to someone with a high pitched voice and only your right ear when someone with a low pitched, or baritone voice is speaking.
Who knew getting good reception on an important business call could be as easy as switching ears? (You can check out the data for your own phone on the Quora website, FYI.)
While ‘switching ears’ might seem easy, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the majority of us (80 per cent) use our right ear to listen to our phone because the left side of our brain is the dominant one.
You’re unlikely to change which side of your brain does more of the heavy lifting so, engineer Šiljak suggests you pick a phone based on your ear preference. Choice of phone is a lot easier to change than brain function.
First published August 28, 2017 11:20am
Source: bodyandsoul.com.au
