Unlike dogs, cats, rabbits, bats, donkeys, zebras, gerbils and very many other mammals, most humans have great difficulty in independently orienting their outer ears ( pinnae ) towards sounds of interest. But what if we could? This study demonstrates that by opening and closing the human pinna, we can change the direction of […]
Tag: ears
Ear candling action overdue in New Zealand?
Some of those who suffer the inconveniences of excessive ear-wax turn to a radical remedy – a fire-based process called ‘ear-candling’ [see diag.] “Ear candles have been used for centuries and is [sic] considered a painless, inexpensive and non-invasive way to potentially remove ear wax that is easy to use in the privacy of your […]
Earprints as criminal evidence
“An earprint is an impression of the external ear. House breakers may leave their earprints inadvertently when they listen at doors and windows to check if there is anyone inside before breaking and entering a premises. Owing to uniqueness and individualistic characteristics of the human ear, earprints can be used as evidence to link a […]
Ear-orientation in humans – a review
Would you like to be able to move your ears at will? There’s a good chance you already can (using a 25 million-year-old neural circuit). Dr Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson [pictured] was the first to formally document the so-called oculoauricular phenomenon in his 1908 paper ‘A note on an associated movement of the eyes and […]