Which portion of the cerebral cortex located on the sides of the brain lying roughly above the ears includes auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear?

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Auditory processing happens in the temporal lobes, which sit on the sides of the brain just above the ears. The primary auditory cortex, located on the superior temporal gyrus, receives sound information via the auditory pathways. These pathways cross so that each hemisphere mainly processes sounds from the opposite ear, meaning the left temporal lobe handles most input from the right ear and the right temporal lobe handles input from the left ear. This laterality helps explain why sounds are often interpreted with reference to their source in the contralateral ear.