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An INVESTIGATION of the METHOD 
, whereby Men judge, by the Ear, of the 
POSITION of SONOROUS BODIES 
relative to their own Persons, 
BY MR. JOHN GOUGH. 
COMMUNICATED BY DR. HOLME. 
READ NOVEMBER 27, 1801. 
The power of the ear to distinguish very slight 
variations of tone, has been observed long ago ; 
and some experiments have been made to ascer- 
tain the degree of discrimination, which a good 
ear possesses in this respect. But there is ano- 
ther faculty of the auditory organs, which, as 
far as I know, has never been explained,—I 
mean the power of ascertaining, with some 
degree of precision, the bearings or relative 
positions of sonorous bodies. Every man is 
sensible, by constant experience and observation, 
of the existence of the faculty in question; for 
every person who can hear, knows, without the 
use of his eyes, from what quarter any particular 
sound proceeds; or, to speak in more definite 
