We know clinical auscultation is an art . It is more of a special sens rather ! It is a combination of natural and acquired ability of your brain to phase out a sound or series of sounds . Sound perception also has two point discrimination like touch .(Auditory cortex -Temporal lobe maturity)
It involves selective blanking and noise cancellation techniques. Ambient noise contamination is more in youngsters . Elderly men often have otosclerois so they are benefited by this handicap .Your chief maybe one of them .So simply do not bother.
Finally , clinical acoustics require lot of imagination . Seniors professors know what they are expected to hear in a given patient . They look for it rather than they hear it .This is the secret of their magic ears .
The famous quote “What the mind do not know . . . the eyes do not see” is very much applicable for the ears as well !
What your temporal lobe do not expect . . . the ears do not hear!
Beware , even experienced cardiologists mistake systolic events with that of diastolic and vice versa !
Final message
With due courtesies to great men like Potain , Leatham , Austin flint, and other pioneers of cardiac auscultation , I would modify the title of this article .
The science of cardiac auscultation may appear more of an auditory illusion to many youngsters today . Still , dedicated auscultation , with a sound clinical knowledge in a quiet room with a good stethoscope would make this illusion into a reality !
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 