What do ears do when we sleep.

[paladinlady]

Why don't we get 'pins and needles' in our ears as we do in our arms when we sleep on them all night? We say our arm has 'gone to sleep', but our ears don't suffer the same, even if they get folded and crumpled under our heads? Can't be because they have no nerves or feeling cos' they do.

[Eldan]

Just a theory, but: no muscles?

[Ichneumon]

Maybe evolution by natural selection has caused all the poor monkeys with "sleeping" ears to go extinct?

[Lady Moreta]

My ears can get sore after I've slept on them all night... I tend to sleep on my left and I've often noticed that my ear is definitely sore when I wake up...

Not pins & needles, but a definite response.

[factotum]

"Pins and needles" is due to the blood circulation to the arms getting restricted, I believe. Guessing the ears don't have major blood vessels to get restricted in the same way...

[KuReshtin]

Just a theory, but: no muscles?

I'd go for this response as well.

Like factotum said, 'pins and needles' is when the blood flow to an extremity has been impaired, so the muscles doesn't get the oxygen it needs to work properly.

Since you don't have any muscles in your ears, the muscles you don't have can't stop working correctly.

[paladinlady]

"Pins and needles" is due to the blood circulation to the arms getting restricted, I believe. Guessing the ears don't have major blood vessels to get restricted in the same way...

I think you may be right about blood vessels... may be enough for ones ears to burn if one is being talked about. And to stop them falling off with frost bite. But not enough major blood vessels to react to being restricted thus causing 'pins and needles. Is this a medical break through...?

[DeadManSleeping]

I don't know what my ears do when I'm asleep, but some mornings...some mornings I wake up, and something's missing. A $20 from my wallet, or a new pair of headphones. I don't want to suspect them, but...I can never see them, and can never hear them. And as much as I hate to say it...I can never trust them.

Thank the gods they'll never be able to read this post. You know, because they're ears.

[paladinlady]

I don't know what my ears do when I'm asleep, but some mornings...some mornings I wake up, and something's missing. A $20 from my wallet, or a new pair of headphones. I don't want to suspect them, but...I can never see them, and can never hear them. And as much as I hate to say it...I can never trust them.

You've got me worried... do ears have a life of their own? I've noticed walls have ears and corn has ears... where will it all end? Are they trying to take over. After what you've said I'm going to keep my eye on my ears.

[grimbold]

ears dont fall asleep because they are made of cartilage like your nose is
they don't have the same properties as the flesh on your arms

[paladinlady]

ears dont fall asleep because they are made of cartilage like your nose is
they don't have the same properties as the flesh on your arms

Ah... that sounds right.

[Asta Kask]

You've got me worried... do ears have a life of their own? I've noticed walls have ears and corn has ears... where will it all end? Are they trying to take over. After what you've said I'm going to keep my eye on my ears.

It's not at all like that. After you fall asleep, the ears detach and join up to form a pretty butterfly. They then fly away to mate with other ear-butterflies. And that's how baby ears are made.

[Amiel]

They exercise; alternatively, your ears separate from your head and go off on their own merry adventures.

This is why you get ear-wax.

[Vella_Malachite]

I don't know what my ears do when I'm asleep, but some mornings...some mornings I wake up, and something's missing. A $20 from my wallet, or a new pair of headphones. I don't want to suspect them, but...I can never see them, and can never hear them. And as much as I hate to say it...I can never trust them.

Thank the gods they'll never be able to read this post. You know, because they're ears.

May I applaud you, sir?

But, back on topic, isn't pins and needles a reaction by the nerves, not the muscles? But then, that wouldn't make much of a difference, because ears don't have many nerves in them, either...

Please ignore me if that's completely wrong - I admit, as much as I love using them, my knowledge of ears is a bit limited.

[paladinlady]

It's not at all like that. After you fall asleep, the ears detach and join up to form a pretty butterfly. They then fly away to mate with other ear-butterflies. And that's how baby ears are made.

What a superb thought... I've always wondered what the cat was chasing around at night. I didn't know about that theory... although I do know if your nose runs and your feet smell, you're built upside down...

[paladinlady]

May I applaud you, sir?

But, back on topic, isn't pins and needles a reaction by the nerves, not the muscles? But then, that wouldn't make much of a difference, because ears don't have many nerves in them, either...

I think you're right... but what is pins and needles? Is it your blood going back into the area that has been deprived and why does it go pins and needley? It must be sending some sort of reaction to the nerves... ears have blood, they go white if it's cold and red if it's hot... or is that the elephant I'm thinking of..?

[Asta Kask]

The medical term is paresthesia, and it can have many causes.

[Obrysii]

Also, the brain ignores (most) audible stimuli - your breathing, the clock ticking, etc.

It usually takes something jarring to wake you. Basically the sub-conscious continuously monitors for what it considers a dangerous noise, and if it discovers one it prods the conscious into dealing with it.

[Phishfood]

The explanation I was given for pins and needles was the blood vessels re-opening after being deprived of blood and so triggering off all your nerves.

since we can assume a force strong enough to block the blood coming in blocks it going out (and vice versa) it must be something to do with the way blood is returned in two parts (cells in the veins and fluid in the lymphatic system).

As for why your ears are not so affected, perhaps it is to do with the structure and layout of the blood vessels responding less to pressure or the way that you put weight on the ear not actually creating the same pressure and therefore being incapable of stopping blood flow.

As others have said, the lack of muscles and nerves is probably a factor too.

[Mauve Shirt]

I've started lashing my ears to my head while I sleep, or else I wake up to find that they've been raiding the kitchen and are now full of cereal.

[Serpentine]

Dunno about ears, but I find tongues pretty worrying...

[paladinlady]

Dunno about ears, but I find tongues pretty worrying...

Oh Yuck...! I see what you mean, where will it all end? I wish I hadn't mentioned ears now... too much information, I've gone right off my lunch.

[Phishfood]

That video seems rather tounge in cheek.

What? Cat got your tounge?

I'll be going now....

[Asta Kask]

According to Doctor Mum, we have no large nerves in our ears. Large nerves (like in our arms) are vulnerable to compression, whereas small nerves just dislocate a millimeter or two.

[Keld Denar]

When I see this topic, I keep thinking of Cake's song When You Sleep, but thats about fingers, not ears. I suggest anyone who hasn't heard it, to listen to it. Cake is AWESOME!

[SurlySeraph]

I think you may be right about blood vessels... may be enough for ones ears to burn if one is being talked about. And to stop them falling off with frost bite. But not enough major blood vessels to react to being restricted thus causing 'pins and needles. Is this a medical break through...?

The ear doesn't have major blood vessels, nope. Just capillaries. That's part of why people can have piercings in any part of the ear, there's no chance that poking a hole in the wrong places will result in significant bleeding. (I mean, it'll hurt a lot if you hit a nerve or stab right through the cartilage, but you're extremely unlikely to bleed to death from a cut on your ear).

I think another part of the answer is cushioning. Cartilage is a lot softer than bone and skeletal muscle, and many people sleep with their heads on something softer than what they keep the rest of their bodies on. Between the give in the cartilage and the give in a pillow, the nerves and blood vessels in the ear don't get compressed enough for there to be much discomfort.

[Serpentine]

According to Doctor Mum

Copycat! :O

When I see this topic, I keep thinking of Cake's song When You Sleep, but thats about fingers, not ears. I suggest anyone who hasn't heard it, to listen to it. Cake is AWESOME!

'tis.

The ear doesn't have major blood vessels, nope. Just capillaries. That's part of why people can have piercings in any part of the ear, there's no chance that poking a hole in the wrong places will result in significant bleeding. (I mean, it'll hurt a lot if you hit a nerve or stab right through the cartilage, but you're extremely unlikely to bleed to death from a cut on your ear).

But by that same token, according to my Dr. Mum, it does mean that infections are more problematic because they don't get enough blood flow to deal with it.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

'tis.

Indeed. Great band. Now I have 'Sheep go to Heaven' stuck in my head.
Again.
Also.
Ears.

[xelliea]

You've opened a can of worms here, miss paladinlady...

Still, I am sure every night your ears have to take the mighty ear right to mount loom, the thing is that eardo and waxwise never make it before you wake up, sometimes you see parts of their adventures, most people call them dreams.

[Felixaar]

One time, I had a dream where I'd gone deaf in one ear. I woke up the next morning to find I was sleeping on that ear.

Weird, huh? One thing I've always wondered - can blind people see, in their dreams? Or the deaf hear?