What makes hearing different from our other senses? How do animals use sound in ways humans can’t even imagine?
In An Immense World, Ed Yong explores the remarkable sense of hearing in animals, revealing capabilities far beyond human perception. From birds detecting subtle variations in song to whales mapping ocean floors with sound, the animal kingdom showcases extraordinary auditory abilities that help creatures survive and thrive.
Keep reading to discover fascinating examples of how animals perceive sound and learn how their unique abilities are helping scientists develop better solutions for human hearing problems.
The Sense of Hearing in Animals
Yong writes that hearing is a unique sense because it works even when the other senses don’t: in the dark, at great distances, quickly (at the speed of sound), and through barriers. Many animals have hearing that’s much more sensitive and precise than humans’, usually to help them hunt prey, avoid predators, and communicate with each other. Yong gives some examples of the amazing sense of hearing in animals.
1) Birds process sound very quickly. Yong says that many types of birds sing what sounds to humans like the same sequence of notes, over and over. But to the birds, these songs aren’t repetitive at all, as the birds are hearing very fast shifts in sound within each individual note that differentiate one sequence from another. Birds may use this information to do everything from creating partner bonds to dividing up parenting responsibilities.
2) Whales can hear infrasounds—very low-frequency sounds that humans can’t hear. The sound of whale songs can travel across entire oceans; one scientist used a microphone in Bermuda to listen to whale calls in Ireland. Although scientists don’t know for sure whether whales are communicating over these vast distances, some believe that whales use the echoes from their calls to map the mountains and canyons of the seafloor from great distances.
3) Many animals that appear silent to humans are actually communicating with each other using ultrasound—very high-frequency sound. In fact, most mammals can hear ultrasound, including dogs, cats, mice, and chimpanzees.
| How Research Into Animal Hearing Can Help Improve Human Hearing Studying animals’ ears and the mechanics of how they hear has helped scientists develop treatments for human hearing loss and improve hearing aid technology. For example, studies conducted on a species of fly with specialized ears have led to technology such as mini-microphones in hearing aids that can sense the direction a sound is coming from (the fly they’re modeled after has the best directional hearing in the animal kingdom). Studies of rats, which have an auditory system similar to that of humans, have helped scientists better understand noise-induced hearing loss in humans. In addition, studies of owls and lizards have helped scientists gain more insight into common hearing loss in humans. Many of these studies involve measurements and observations of the animals’ superior hearing ability, rather than experimentation that harms the animals. |
