Most People Are Rediscovering These Muscles They Haven't Used for 25 Million Years

The Evolutionary Legacy of the Human Body: The Importance of Ear Muscles

Although some parts of our distant ancestors' bodies lost their functions over time during the evolution process, ear muscles Structures such as these still attract attention. Wisdom teeth, tails that exist in the sixth week of pregnancy, are among these parts that become useless, such as the ones in our ears auricle muscles occupies an important place.

The Evolutionary History of Ear Muscles

The ear muscles are a structure that allowed the shape of the outer ear to change and our ancestors to hear better. These muscles are actively used in only 10 to 20% of people today and they earwig It offers an interesting ability such as. According to Popular Science, the functions of these muscles can be used for more than we think.

Functionality of Ear Muscles

Neuroscientist Andreas Schröeer, from Saarland University in Germany, says that the ear muscles play an important role during careful listening. There are three large muscles that connect the auricle to the skull and scalp. upper auricle muscle, are more active during listening tasks, suggesting that these muscles function not only as a reflex but also as part of an effort mechanism related to attention in challenging environments involving sound.

Relationship Between Attention and Sound Perception

In a new study, electromyography A person's listening skills were measured using a technique called. This method helps determine the relationship of the ear muscles to listening by measuring the electrical activity in the muscles. In studies, it was observed that the upper and lower ear muscles respond during careful listening.

Experimental Process and Findings

The experiment was conducted with 20 participants who had no hearing problems. Electrodes were placed on the participants' ear muscles and distracting elements were added while they listened to an audiobook. During the experiment, it was evaluated how well the participants focused their attention and followed the information in the audiobook.

  • Easy Mode: The podcast audio is played at a lower volume than the audiobook.
  • Medium Mode: Distracting sounds have been made louder.
  • Hard Mode: Participants listened to audio that was more similar to the audiobook.

Ear Muscle Activity Levels

The experimental results are directly related to the activity levels of the upper ear muscles. In the medium mode, these muscles, which were less active during the easy mode, became much more active in the difficult mode. This shows that the ear muscles can provide an objective measure of listening effort. However, it is not yet clear whether the ear muscles help people hear better.

Conclusion and Future Research

The studies suggest that more research is needed to understand how the function of ear muscles has changed over evolution. The small sample size and young participants make it difficult to generalize the findings. In the future, it will be important to investigate the effects of ear muscles in individuals with hearing impairment.

Last word

The functionality of the ear muscles and their effects on listening are noteworthy as part of the evolutionary heritage of the human body. How these muscles have evolved from the past to the present and whether they remain functional constitutes an important area of ​​research in the scientific world.