How Do Animals and Insects Hear?

Since we talk a lot about the fascinating way people hear, let’s talk now about some fun facts concerning animal and insect hearing. Here are the facts:

1. Bats and Dolphins - Bats have bad night vision. But they’ve gained a special hearing ability called echolocation, which allows them to utilize sound waves to identity objects. They squeak and squeal such that the sounds bounce back to their ears so that they can perceive what’s around them in relation to distance. Dolphins navigate the seas via echolocation.
2. Elephants - Elephants have large, thin ears which help them to hear well. Their ears also help them to regulate their body temperature.
3. The greater wax moth - They can hear high frequencies. They hear 150 times more than us, and they can hear more than a bat. Hearing more than a bat has an advantage for them--they are a bat’s prey.
4. Cats - While humans have 6 muscles in each of their outer ears, cats have 32. Cats can rotate their ears to pinpoint the source of noise. Cats can hear really well, so there is no use in sneaking up on them.
5. Dogs - Dogs can hear really well, too. They can hear higher pitches and recognize specific sounds.
6. Pigeons - Pigeons can hear very low frequencies. They can hear storms from far away. Plus sound helps them to navigate long distances.
7. Horses - Horses use their ears to communicate moods. Moving them forward indicates alertness. Pulling them back indicates irritation. Somewhat sideways, relaxed ears show contentment. They can rotate each ear 180 degrees to sense danger.
8. Owls - An owl has a more acute sense of hearing, even though their range of hearing isn’t much different than ours. Also, one ear is higher than the other for most owls, allowing them to hear the same sound at slightly different intervals.

Keep your ears at their best
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Ears do more than just hearing, for people and animals alike. They help with spatial awareness and balance, aside from hearing. Learn as much as you can about hearing so you can keep your hearing functioning ideally.

If you need a hearing care professional, contact a hearing instrument specialist at Pure Sound Hearing Aids.

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