If you want to tell someone you love them you should tell them through their left ear.

People are more likely to remember emotional words, such as "love," if they hear them through their left ear, a study by psychologists at Sam Houston State University in Texas found.

It revealed that if sweet nothings are heard through the right ear, they are more likely to be forgotten.

The researchers say their findings can be explained by the fact that the left ear is controlled by the right side of the brain, which in turn is responsible for processing emotions.

The findings are consistent with the role of the brain's right hemisphere in the processing of emotional stimuli.

The researchers found the participants had a stronger memory of emotional words they had heard through the left ear. Their recollection of similar words heard through the right ear was not as strong.

European Congress of Psychology London July 4, 2001