There are several features of the human body that are “vestigial”, remnants of our ancient ancestors without a modern use. The auricular muscles in the ear appeared to fit into this obsolete category. Now scientists have finally discovered their original use.
What are the auricular muscles?
The auricular muscles form part of a human outer ear, along with the auricle and the ear canal. In general, they help shape the auricle, and can even cause the ear to move. If you are one of the small group of people who can wiggle your ears, this is because of your auricular muscles. This ear wiggling ability does not appear to serve any practical purpose in the modern world. A group of scientists at Saarland University in Germany wanted to investigate whether they may have once been more useful.
How did scientists investigate?
To investigate, the scientists attached electrodes to the auricular muscles of 20 participants without any hearing impairments. These electrodes were used to measure electrical signals as the participants played various inputs from different directions. They had to listen attentively to an audiobook whilst not being distracted by a podcast. Participants were then questioned about the effort the tasks required.
What did they find?
Results suggested that some auricular muscles were more active during the listening tasks requiring more effort, and others when the sound input was from other directions. They only moved millimetres, not enough to make a significant difference to hearing, but it could be compared to how animals like dogs swivel their ears to listen more closely.
More research needs to be done to confirm the results, which were based on a small sample. If you visit an audiologist Taunton such as one from www.imperialhearing.com/audiologist-near-me/taunton, they are unlikely to base their recommendations on your auricular muscles, but one day this research could lead to more effective hearing aids.
We may not use the auricular muscles in the same way as our ancestors, but the fact they are still present could have implications for people experiencing hearing loss.
