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Why People Can't Move Their Ears: Once Everyone Could Do It
07.02.2025 20:34
Scientists believe that at one time all people without exception could wiggle their ears.
But this ability was lost so long ago that scientists now have questions about why this non-functional anatomical mechanism has been preserved.
Facts about ears
It turns out that people could not only move their ears, but even turn them, like cats and other animals.
But our distant human ancestors lost this ability about 25 million years ago.
The reason for this is the insignificance of the option and the lack of any significant benefit from the ability.
However, the muscles that connect the auricle to the skull continue to work.
Research by scientists
These muscles continue to contract as the person strains to make sense of the noise around them.
Scientists believe that this does not happen reflexively, but in the process of concentration, when a person tries to identify sources of noise.
During the experiment, using special equipment, it was possible to find out that the back and upper ear muscles react differently to noise.
If the sound comes from the back, then the back muscles come into play, as if trying to turn the person’s ear in the right direction.
If a person tried to make out a very quiet sound, the upper muscle would be activated.
In this case, the muscles can no longer turn the ear and work only as an indicator of the auditory load.
