Listen Up!

They who listen fully become they who understand.

-- Paraphrase of Ptahhotep

Listen Up!

This a trick I learned in 'Nam.

Not directly. I was a few years too young and flat-footed at that. I read of it in one of the many moving accounts of that war. In it whole lot of people spent a lot of time and energy moving around quietly. Lives depended on hearing the others before they heard you.

When darkness come down on our vessel, we find ourselves in a sensorily analogous situation. Our eyes - providing our best distance-delivery mode of perception - are impaired

Next up are our ears. They're our best shot, when running blind, at detecting another vessel, the breakers along shore, or rocks, or the hoot of a buoy. Radar doesn't tell you everything, doesn't always work, isn't always available. But I hope you're never separated from your ears.

So here's the trick, with a little more detail and commentary based on dim recollection and much practice: 

• Close your eyes - They may not be able to make anything out, but, when open, the visual cortex , is working overtime, straining for detail. Closing them frees brain resources for the ears.
  
  
• Clear your mind - Still your mind and body. Don't strain to hear. Collect sensory data without spinning your wheels (but do wake up if urgent action is required!). Again, free up brain resources.
  
  
• Clear your Eustachian tubes (pop your ears) - This equalizes pressure on your ear-drum, freeing it to vibrate freely and therefore increasing sensitivity. Also it provides an open, resonant cavity between ear and mouth, helping amplify vibrations (like a large guitar, vs. a small ukulele). Learn to hold them open (a slight and particular tension in the jaws will do it, but you have to identify the muscle - like the onset of a yawn).
  
  
• Open your mouth wide with tongue flat on the floor - The mouth, aided by teeth, makes a large acoustic chamber - almost a third ear - connected to the ear by the open Eustachian tubes.
  
  
• Cup your ears with relaxed hands - This multiplies the sound collection surface before feeding it into your ears. Don't bend your ears out of shape, as they're highly evolved to work as they are. Tight hands consume brain power.
  
  
• Face the direction you wish to hear - straight-forward makes the most of both ears at once. Turn left and right to scan the whole range of interest, narrowing in for direction.

There ya go. Try experimenting, leaving one or more steps out, to get a feel for how much they add to your perception. Some (especially holding Eustachian tubes open and being still) take practice. So practice.

You'll be amazed at what you can hear this way, by sea or land. Try it when listening to music, or when out-of-doors. It adds a lot to bird-watching.

If you practice this, you'll naturally begin to practice interpretation (the harder skill). Figuring out what the hey it is you're listening to, and what it means. Estimating direction and distance off. Locating obstacles and gaps. The art of echolocation is to listening as seamanship is to sail mechanics. It's an open-ended investment of time and energy with high rewards from the get-go.

And it's useful far beyond sailing. Try it outside, tonight. You'll be amazed what you can hear all around you.

As a last thought, protect your ears! They are expensive, valuable and irreplaceable equipment... think of their value in terms of supply and demand. Wear ear protection when it's loud, avoided overloads and keep 'em warm, especially in wind.

The old fisherfolk's joke, "Well... the motor's loud, but it gets a little quieter every year!"