London - Next time you struggle to recall a name or phone number that you were told just minutes before, it may have really been a case of in one ear and out the other.
A study has shown that we find it harder to remember sounds than things we see or touch.
Researchers said that teachers should use more visual aids if they want pupils to remember what they are telling them – and we should always write down things we need to recall.
In the study, reported in journal PLOS ONE, US scientists asked a group of students to listen to pairs of beeps and say if the two were identical.
Visual memory was tested by doing the task with pictures and to test touch the students gripped a bar that vibrated.
Time lag between the stimuli was gradually increased and, in the very short-term, all three types of memory were equally good. But within just eight seconds, the students found it harder to remember the beeps than the pictures or vibrations. - Daily Mail