Here are 10 fun facts about hearing, I bet you didn’t know!
- Fish do not have ears, but they can hear pressure changes through ridges on their body.
- The ear’s malleus, incus and stapes (otherwise known as the hammer, anvil and stirrup) are the smallest bones in the human body. All three could fit together on a penny.
- The ear continues to hear sounds, even while you sleep.
- Sound travels at the speed of 1,130 feet per second, or 1239 kilometers per hour.
- Dogs can hear much higher frequencies than humans.
- Ears not only help you hear, but also aid in balance.
- Snakes hear through the jaw bone and through a traditional inner ear. In essence, snakes have two distinct hearing mechanisms, which helps them hear and catch prey.
- Sitting in front of the speakers at a rock concert can expose you to 120 decibels, which will begin to damage hearing in only 7 1/2 minutes.
- Thirty-seven percent of children with only minimal hearing fail at least one grade.
- Mail mosquitoes hear with thousands of tiny hairs growing on their antennae.