According to a paper Canadian researchers from the University of British Columbia published in the Nature journal Thursday, our perception of language is not made up of only sound and visual data, but tactile information, such as, airflow as well i. e. we do not hear just with our ears, but also with our skin and hair follicles.

If, we hold our hand in front of our mouth and say ‘ba’ and then ‘pa’, one notices a puff of air on saying ‘pa’, which will be heard not with the ears alone, but also the skin which feels the puff of air.

The researchers experimented by applying simultaneous puffs of air to the neck and skin on the hand of those participating in the study, as they listened to the syllables ‘ba’, ‘pa’, ‘da’ and ‘ta’, as hair follicles help people perceive the puff of air.

They found that the skin and even the hair follicles recognized a puff of air when a study subject said ‘pa’ or ‘ta’.

Researchers found a puff of air from the air compressor saw study participants more likely to perceive the syllable ‘pa’, when in fact ‘ba’ had been spoken.

Eventually, these research findings would prove useful in enhancing audio and telecommunication applications and aids for the hearing impaired, simply by using puffs of air or attaching pneumatic puffing devices to the headsets of airline pilots, so that they can hear better in noisy environments.