Vestigial human ear muscles react to sounds even if the external ear does not move. This could be used to build better earing aids. If you hear something interesting, you might prick up your ears.

Some researchers suggest that dysfunctional contractions of the muscles in the middle ear can cause fluttering sounds. Doctors call this rare condition middle ear myoclonus (MEM). MEM is a ...

The little muscles that enable people to wiggle their ears unconsciously flex when we're trying to pick one sound out of a din of noise, a new study finds. Think about how cats, dogs and certain ...

Humans actually have vestigial muscles that activate when listening closely to something, even though people lost the ability to really move their ears about 25 million years ago. Your ears can't ...

The auricular muscles helped change the shape of the shell–or pinna–of the ear and helped humans living millions of years ago listen closely. They are still used by roughly 10 to 20 percent of ...

It’s caused by a small muscle located in the middle ear called the tensor tympani (TT). The TT muscle tightens, or contracts, after you hear a very loud sound. This contraction muffles the ...

THE intensity of sound transmitted from the ear drum to the inner ear can be attenuated by contraction of the middle ear muscles, the tensor tympani and stapedius. These muscles contract at the ...

That's according to a new study which found that a certain vestigial ear muscle — one that perks up ears in animals — actually shows electrical activity when people engage in a difficult ...