Surely you have acquaintances who can move their ears. Perhaps you yourself possess this interesting ability. But why does this happen? What makes some people control the muscles of the ear, while others do not?
Can you move your ears?
Some animals, such as dogs, cats, horses, and rabbits, can move their ears at will — this helps them better capture certain sounds and distinguish the movements of prey or predators. However, animals have significantly more muscles in their ears than humans do: for example, cats have 32 muscles in each ear, while we have only three. So why can some people still move their ears?
Reasons Why People Can Move Their Ears
The study of this fascinating phenomenon was conducted by German scientist Daniel Strauss along with colleagues from the Saarland University Medical Center (Germany). He hypothesized that human ancestors could move their ears just like animals do, but this ability was lost during the course of evolution. Nevertheless, humans retained a rudimentary system that allows them to move their outer ear to some extent. For example, wisdom teeth and the coccyx have similarly persisted.
Scientists Believe That Theoretically Everyone Can Move Their Ears
To determine whether the modern human ear can respond to sounds, Daniel Strauss conducted a study that yielded interesting results. It turned out that sound stimuli can provoke a reaction in the human ear — it moves, although almost imperceptibly. Thus, by this logic, everyone can move their ears, but why is it not possible for everyone?
Reasons Why Not Everyone Can Move Their Ears
Yes, Daniel Strauss's research shows that theoretically, everyone can move their ears. However, some people are better at it due to innate abilities — for example, due to stronger muscles around the outer ear.
Very few studies have been conducted to determine whether the ability to move the ears is genetic. However, there is a study from 1949 published in the journal Hereditas, the results of which show that people whose parents can move their ears are more likely to develop this ability. The study assessed the abilities of 174 individuals who could move their outer ear to some extent — 74% of them had parents who also possessed this ability.
