Recently I found myself in an exam room with a hearing specialist. From this visit and some recent study, I conclude the following.
There are four main parts of the human hearing system. First, is the acoustic collector. The acoustic collector includes the auricle, the most visible part of the ear. The auricle is the fleshy curved part of the ear made of tough, elastic tissue covered with a thin layer of skin. It also includes the inside ear canal and eardrum.
Next are the three intricate bones of the middle ear. The malleus (hammer), the incus (anvil), and the stapes (stirrup) work together to pass vibrations from the eardrum to the cochlea.
The snail-shaped cochlea has three fluid-filled ducts winding through it. The vibrations from the middle ear create waves in the fluid of the cochlea. These waves cause the hairlike projections of the over 15,000 hair cells to bend and slide against the overhanging tectorial membrane.
The resulting impulses are then transmitted through the synaptic pathways to the brain. Synaptic Pathways act as neural microcircuits to give information to the brain. The brain interprets them as sounds.
Hearing loss is the inability to hear certain frequencies like we could when we were young. Hearing loss can affect other areas of life as well such as memory, balance, and cognitive function.
The synaptic pathways (neural microcircuits) are bound together, created by God to send signals in a united way to the brain. When ten percent of them have shut down, the remaining pathways cannot separate sounds as they were created to do.
Without correction, the synaptic pathways to the brain weaken and then diminish altogether just as a trail in the woods fades away if it is not used. If correction is put off too long, the synaptic pathways close up and are gone forever just like that path in the woods!
Many times in Scriptures, Jesus told His audience, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Seven times we are instructed in Revelations “He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
Do I have vibrations in my spiritual hearing?
Some spiritual vibrations that God may bring into our lives:
The death of a close friend or family member
An auto accident on the way to work
A rebuke from my brother or sister
A national catastrophe
A financial loss
A terminal sickness
When things like this happen in our lives, do we STOP and LISTEN? Or are we rebellious? "They have ears to hear, but they hear not” (Eze 12:2).
Some spiritual Synaptic Pathways:
Our conscience– Have we been heeding its warnings or is it scarred and silent?
Brotherhood accountability– Am I a member of a brotherhood? Do I want others input in my life?
Appreciation for my godly heritage– How much value do I truly place on it?
Reading of God’s Word– “The ear of the wise seeketh knowledge (Pro 18:15).
The Holy Spirit– Is He doing a work in our lives? “He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).
Jude 8-16 describes humans whose “synaptic pathways” have faded away:
Despisers of dominion
Raging waves of the sea
Those who speak great swelling words
Without fruit
Wandering stars
Brute beasts
Maybe they would even like to come back, but there is seemingly no path!
Physical and spiritual hearing loss have some similarities. They both happen incredibly slow. It may take 25, 50, or 75 years, but it happens! We hardly notice it.
Both losses occur because of too much exposure to loud noises or voices. What voices have you and I been listening to? What have we been telling ourselves?
Are my “Ears dull of hearing” or are they “Blessed ears for they hear!"