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Hearing is a sense we use every day as humans. We use it to evade danger, talk to loved ones and communicate with everything around us. The average hearing range for a human is between 20 Hz to 20 kHz and uses three muscles to aid the hearing process. There are, however, animals who have better hearing than that of humans.

Moth

Recently, moths have been named as having the best hearing in the world, in both the animal and human kingdoms. The evolution of the moths hearing over time may be due to having to evade the threat of their main predator, the Bat. Moths have the ability to hear a higher frequency than bats, allowing them to escape before they can be attacked.

Bat

A well-known trait of the bat is the exceptional hearing they have. Bats have notoriously bad eyesight, being blind for the most part; therefore, they rely heavy on their hearing. Using echolocation, a bat can squeak whilst in flight and navigate their way to where they need to be. The sound vibrations they emit through squeaking bounces off any nearby surfaces back to the bat, allowing them to know where the surface is.

Owl

Being a nocturnal animal, owls rely on both their sharp sight and their hearing. Most species of owls have crooked ears; one placed slightly more forward and one placed higher than the other. The difference in the placement of their ears allows them to pin point exactly where a sound is coming from and aid them in capturing their prey, who are usually small and in the dark. This survivalist hearing helps the owl whilst hunting in the dark.

Elephant

Elephants use their hearing and, most importantly, their ears for many important reasons. As well as having brilliant hearing, with an average range of 16 – 12,000 Hz, an elephant will use its ears to help them keep cool. In the hot climates where they live, the large surface area and thinness of the ears help regulate the mammal’s body temperature, keeping it cooler for longer.

Dog

When you come home and your pet dog is wagging its tail, all happy to see you, you’d think it would be because they heard you come through the front door. In actual fact, a dog’s hearing is highly sensitive and can hear frequencies above that of what a human can hear (and often respond better to these frequencies then lower tones). A dog’s hearing is so sensitive that they can usually hear you are home before you even open the door.

Cat

Not only is a cat’s hearing immensely impressive with an average range of between 45Hz – 64,000Hz, they are also mechanically impressive. A human ear consists of three muscles and the three smallest bones in the body; a cat’s ears are controlled by around three dozen muscles per ear which allows them to rotate their ears 180 degrees for a fully peripheral coverage.

Horse

Have you ever seen all the horses in a herd lying down at the same time? A herd of horses will always have at least one lookout, to warn others of potential dangers that may be around them. A horses hearing is essential to the protection of the herd. The main functions a horses hearing are to detect the sound, determine where it is coming from, to identify what the sound is and know whether it’s time to warn the herd or not. Horses also use their ears to communicate their mood and can express feelings through facial expressions.

Dolphin

Dolphins have exceptional hearing as well as eyesight and, interestingly enough, also use echolocation to “hear” where they are going (similar to bats). A dolphin will emit a sound, a squeak in this case, that will bounce off the surfaces and back to the dolphin’s lower jaw. The bounce back of sound vibrations gives a sound map of what might be coming up ahead. The detail of the sound map is impressive and allows a dolphin to, not only hunt effectively, but also avoid any danger that might be ahead.

Rat

Rats are particularly good at pinpointing the exact location of where a sound is coming from, due to their ears being so close together. Animals who may be albino historically have problems with their hearing, particularly cats and humans. Rats, however, appear to keep their hearing and don’t suffer from any type of hearing loss what might appear in other animals. A rats range falls in the ultrasound category, which are sounds that are too high for a human to hear.

Pigeon

Pigeons can hear infrasound, sounds that are much lower than a human can hear. With the average pigeon being able to hear sounds as low as 0.5 Hz, they can detect distant storms, earthquakes and even volcanoes. With their exceptional hearing ability and their navigational skills, they are named as the best navigators in the world.

Many animals have great hearing but if you’re concerned about your hearing, search for your local Hearing Centre or book a hearing test.